NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Acquired by Bokf Na

Bokf Na lifted its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 190,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,064 shares during the period. Bokf Na’s holdings in NiSource were worth $6,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in 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 purchased a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. increased its position in shares of NiSource by 105.0% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI stock opened at $39.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $18.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $39.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.79. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.60 and a 12 month high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. Analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource’s payout ratio is 69.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $41.11.

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.