NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Acquired by Voya Investment Management LLC

Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,029,396 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 36,676 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.22% of NiSource worth $37,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in NiSource by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 13,987 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $922,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. boosted its position in NiSource by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 31,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its position in NiSource by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 5,648 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank increased its holdings in NiSource by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 48,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NI. Mizuho upped their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.11.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.72. The stock had a trading volume of 4,960,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,152,988. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $18.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.46 and a fifty-two week high of $41.45. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $39.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.62.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share 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 firm earned $0.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource's payout ratio is 69.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.