Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,793,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,459,452 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.12% of NiSource worth $2,124,492,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NI. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 153.2% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on NI. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of 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 price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.33.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NiSource Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $39.94 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $18.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.65, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $26.26 and a one year high of $41.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $38.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. Analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.14%.

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.