Capital International Inc. CA Takes Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Capital International Inc. CA acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 941,577 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $34,612,000. Capital International Inc. CA owned approximately 0.20% of NiSource at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Securian Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $922,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. increased its stake in NiSource by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 31,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in NiSource by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 5,648 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank lifted its position in NiSource by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 48,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,408 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on NI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $39.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Up 1.0 %

NiSource stock traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $39.71. The stock had a trading volume of 891,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,147,142. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $39.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.46 and a 12-month high of $41.45. 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, 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 net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is 69.14%.

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.