56,859 Shares in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Purchased by XTX Topco Ltd

XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 56,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,090,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NI. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of NiSource by 153.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, Eastern Bank increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 1,242.2% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 2,161 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.21. 3,938,179 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,142,104. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $39.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.37. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.46 and a 12 month high of $41.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.