NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Acquired by OLD National Bancorp IN

OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 362,967 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,211 shares during the quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN owned about 0.08% of NiSource worth $13,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in NiSource by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,691,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $786,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,368 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 88.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $516,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,991,608 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in NiSource by 0.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,396,489 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $394,888,000 after acquiring an additional 99,882 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in NiSource by 3.0% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 10,823,095 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $375,020,000 after buying an additional 316,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of NiSource by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,747,328 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $371,139,000 after purchasing an additional 178,365 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $37.33. 4,410,213 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,424,737. The stock has a market cap of $17.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.81. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.80 and a 1 year high of $38.83.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This is a boost from NiSource's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on NI. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.