Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 775,555 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 77,484 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 0.17% of NiSource worth $28,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,793,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,124,492,000 after acquiring an additional 2,459,452 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in NiSource by 88.4% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of NiSource by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,448,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $419,765,000 after purchasing an additional 700,747 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter worth approximately $195,745,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of NiSource by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,261,578 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $156,656,000 after buying an additional 155,808 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.
NiSource Price Performance
NYSE:NI traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $38.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,340,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,122,106. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $18.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.94, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.26 and a twelve month high of $41.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.30.
NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm earned $0.53 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.
NiSource Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource's payout ratio is 69.14%.
Insider Activity 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities analysts have commented on NI shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $39.33.
Read Our Latest Analysis on NiSource
NiSource Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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