Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Increases Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 148.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,680 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 32,042 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NI. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in NiSource by 7.1% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 438,845 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,144,000 after acquiring an additional 29,055 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 515,724 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,265,000 after purchasing an additional 57,658 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 26.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 796,693 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $22,036,000 after buying an additional 164,532 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in NiSource by 3.5% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 598,359 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $16,551,000 after buying an additional 20,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 47.8% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 647,984 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $17,923,000 after buying an additional 209,451 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Price Performance

NiSource stock traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $34.49. 3,135,337 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,035,585. The company has a market capitalization of $15.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.10 and a 200 day moving average of $30.98. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.58 and a 1-year high of $35.48.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.00 million. NiSource had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. NiSource's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NI shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America assumed coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.50.

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.