NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 27.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,525,528 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,826,202 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 2.06% of NiSource worth $226,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $1,049,000. HF Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $1,559,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,281,490 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,024,000 after acquiring an additional 370,805 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 803,652 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $21,337,000 after acquiring an additional 128,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $12,140,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In related news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total transaction of $297,019.06. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

NI stock traded down $0.34 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.87. The stock had a trading volume of 3,073,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,305,088. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.86 and a 52 week high of $29.44. The stock's 50 day moving average is $27.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market cap of $12.94 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.49.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.02. NiSource had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 14.23%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 30th. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised NiSource from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $31.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of NiSource in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on NiSource from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on NiSource from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.71.

NiSource Company 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.