Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Boosts Stock Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 40.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 344,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 99,033 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in NiSource were worth $12,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of NiSource by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,793,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,124,492,000 after purchasing an additional 2,459,452 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in NiSource by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 180,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,626,000 after buying an additional 36,736 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 197,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,254,000 after buying an additional 6,688 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 44,240 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,626,000 after acquiring an additional 15,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments purchased a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,035,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.33.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value 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 approximately $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NiSource Price Performance

NYSE NI opened at $39.88 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $38.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.85. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.26 and a 52 week high of $41.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm earned $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.14%.

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.