NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Purchased by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 387.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,111 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 39,840 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in NiSource were worth $1,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of NiSource by 110.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,273 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank grew its holdings in NiSource by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 567,196 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $20,850,000 after acquiring an additional 16,364 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of NiSource by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,712,724 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $99,720,000 after purchasing an additional 483,491 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 88.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $516,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,991,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $566,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:NI traded down $0.22 on Friday, hitting $39.46. 3,746,620 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,146,356. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.25 and a 200-day moving average of $37.49. The stock has a market cap of $18.57 billion, a PE ratio of 24.36, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.46 and a fifty-two week high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised their price target on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their target price on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $40.33.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% 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.