NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Bought by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 122,769 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,500 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System's holdings in NiSource were worth $3,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 23.8% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 0.7% in the second quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 53,719 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 13,176 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 11.1% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,493 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 6,185 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.00.

NiSource Trading Up 0.4 %

NI stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $32.86. 5,324,587 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,242,181. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.56. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.86 and a 12-month high of $33.10.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.06. NiSource had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 14.23%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 3,742 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total value of $104,626.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,978 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $558,584.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

NiSource 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.