6,890 Shares in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Acquired by Mufg Securities Americas Inc.

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,890 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its position in NiSource by 25.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,352,182 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,852,000 after buying an additional 273,159 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 88.4% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in NiSource by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 32,293 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in NiSource by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 71,346 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,623,000 after purchasing an additional 10,095 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in NiSource by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 422,081 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $15,516,000 after purchasing an additional 27,500 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In related news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $233,590.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,541 shares in the company, valued at $701,035.21. This trade represents a 24.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NiSource stock traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $39.49. 4,669,651 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,153,188. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.60 and a twelve month high of $41.45. The company has a market cap of $18.59 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.07.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's payout ratio is currently 60.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays upped their price target on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.50.

NiSource Profile

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.