NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Stock Holdings Lifted by DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 72.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 302,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 126,911 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main owned 0.06% of NiSource worth $11,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 153.2% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NiSource during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. grew its holdings in NiSource by 105.0% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NI stock opened at $39.51 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.11 and a 200-day moving average of $37.88. The stock has a market cap of $18.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.60 and a 52-week high of $41.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on NI shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim increased their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.50.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.