Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI – Get Rating) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,001,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 224,437 shares during the period. NiSource accounts for approximately 0.8% of Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.49% of NiSource worth $54,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in NiSource by 10.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,613,623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,673,113,000 after purchasing an additional 5,153,843 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in NiSource by 1.9% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 41,079,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,034,796,000 after purchasing an additional 760,163 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in NiSource by 8.9% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,192,844 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $769,332,000 after purchasing an additional 1,970,696 shares during the last quarter. Newport Trust Co grew its holdings in NiSource by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Newport Trust Co now owns 6,842,261 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $187,615,000 after purchasing an additional 156,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in NiSource by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,023,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $110,315,000 after purchasing an additional 590,623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.58% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on NiSource from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.17.
NiSource Price Performance
NI traded down $0.21 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $27.33. The stock had a trading volume of 927,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,760,446. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.78 and a 1-year high of $32.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $28.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.43.
NiSource (NYSE:NI – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77. The firm had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 11.72%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.
NiSource Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 19th. Investors of record on Friday, April 28th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 27th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.03%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other NiSource news, SVP Kimberly S. Cuccia sold 11,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total transaction of $318,420.78. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,329 shares in the company, valued at $580,189.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
About NiSource
NiSource, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of energy solutions. It operates under the Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations segments. The Gas Distribution Operations segment provides natural gas service and transportation for residential, commercial, and industrial customers.