NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Bought by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 62,365 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,744 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd's holdings in NiSource were worth $2,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in NiSource by 110.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,273 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank raised its position in NiSource by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 567,196 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $20,850,000 after acquiring an additional 16,364 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in NiSource by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,712,724 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $99,720,000 after acquiring an additional 483,491 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in NiSource by 88.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $516,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,991,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at about $566,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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NiSource Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:NI traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $40.54. The company had a trading volume of 1,214,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,013,360. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.00 and a 200 day moving average of $36.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $19.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.26 and a 1 year high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $39.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NiSource Company 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.