NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Bought by Premier Fund Managers Ltd

Premier Fund Managers Ltd raised its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in NiSource were worth $3,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NI. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 110.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,273 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank grew its position in shares of NiSource by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 567,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,850,000 after acquiring an additional 16,364 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of NiSource by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,712,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $99,720,000 after acquiring an additional 483,491 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 88.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $516,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,991,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,471,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,633,000 after acquiring an additional 34,093 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NI has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased 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. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Nine equities research 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 target price of $39.33.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the 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 owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Down 0.6 %

NiSource stock opened at $39.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.26 and a 12 month high of $41.45. The firm has a market cap of $18.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.80.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.14%.

NiSource Company 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.