Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 109,782 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 16.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 790,057 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 109,782 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.17% of NiSource worth $28,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in NiSource by 153.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NI shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of 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 target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, NiSource has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $39.33.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI traded down $0.47 during trading on Thursday, reaching $40.17. The company had a trading volume of 3,341,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,021,894. The company has a fifty day moving average of $39.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.26 and a 12 month high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share 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 previous year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.