Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Has $4.60 Million Stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 269.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 132,702 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 96,809 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.'s holdings in NiSource were worth $4,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in NiSource by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 438,845 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $12,144,000 after purchasing an additional 29,055 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 12.6% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 515,724 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,265,000 after purchasing an additional 57,658 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 796,693 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $22,036,000 after purchasing an additional 164,532 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in NiSource by 47.8% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 647,984 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $17,923,000 after acquiring an additional 209,451 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.50.

NiSource Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:NI traded up $0.97 during trading on Friday, reaching $35.97. 4,630,937 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,097,662. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.51. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $34.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.35. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.61 and a 12-month high of $36.17.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released 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. NiSource had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.00 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued 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 2.95%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.24%.

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.