Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Invests $4.99 Million in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 135,770 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,991,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NI. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in NiSource by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 36,338 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,259,000 after buying an additional 8,764 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in NiSource by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 88,307 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,060,000 after acquiring an additional 6,166 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the third quarter valued at about $888,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth about $489,000. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $78,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NI shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, March 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, NiSource has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $39.33.

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NiSource Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE NI traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $38.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 328,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,122,177. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $18.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.25. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource's payout ratio is 69.14%.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

About NiSource

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.