NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Bought by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 598,359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,060 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in NiSource were worth $16,551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in NiSource by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 13,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in NiSource by 11.1% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in NiSource by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 6,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in NiSource by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Price Performance

NYSE NI opened at $32.18 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.75. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.86 and a twelve month high of $32.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.66.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 9.56%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is 69.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 3,742 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total value of $104,626.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $558,584.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NI. Evercore ISI upped their target price on NiSource from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Mizuho initiated coverage on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on NiSource from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.50.

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.