NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) Shares Bought by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 226,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in NiSource were worth $9,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NI. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource by 133.1% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 84,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,114,000 after purchasing an additional 48,367 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in NiSource by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 184,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,787,000 after purchasing an additional 12,972 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in NiSource by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 224,785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,263,000 after buying an additional 25,294 shares during the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its position in shares of NiSource by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 5,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,035,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays raised their target price on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.50.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $40.92 on Friday. NiSource, Inc has a 52 week low of $30.49 and a 52 week high of $41.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $19.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $39.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.93.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. Research analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $233,590.18. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $701,035.21. The trade was a 24.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $245,468.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,138,528.44. This trade represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939 in the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by 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.