NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Acquired by Maple Brown Abbott Ltd

Maple Brown Abbott Ltd lifted its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 25.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,786,453 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 568,980 shares during the quarter. NiSource comprises about 7.6% of Maple Brown Abbott Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd owned approximately 0.67% of NiSource worth $73,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,049,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 14,036 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 803,652 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $21,337,000 after purchasing an additional 128,497 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 54.0% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 201,128 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,964,000 after purchasing an additional 70,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westover Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,053,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of NiSource from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th.

NiSource Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NI stock traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $27.15. 3,273,047 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,246,938. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.86 and a 1 year high of $28.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $26.63 and a 200 day moving average of $26.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $12.17 billion, a PE ratio of 18.47, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.49.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.59 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 10.10%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. Analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total transaction of $297,019.06. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,720 shares in the company, valued at $632,375.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.