NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Bought by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 124.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,914 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,343 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in NiSource were worth $1,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in NiSource by 88.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $516,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,991,608 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter worth about $219,977,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $195,745,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,199,873 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $301,427,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in NiSource by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,793,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,124,492,000 after buying an additional 2,459,452 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Price Performance

NI stock traded up $0.80 on Monday, reaching $39.88. 6,237,384 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,153,424. The firm has a market cap of $18.77 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.60 and a twelve month high of $41.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.07 and a 200-day moving average of $38.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.22, for a total transaction of $152,880.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,719 shares in the company, valued at $944,760.18. This trade represents a 13.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho raised their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $41.50.

About NiSource

NiSource Inc, an energy holding company, operates as a regulated natural gas and electric utility company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations. The company distributes natural gas to approximately 3.3 million customers through approximately 55,000 miles of distribution main pipeline and the associated individual customer service lines; and 1,000 miles of transmission main pipeline in northern Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland.