BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires 275,949 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 39.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 968,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 275,949 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in NiSource were worth $35,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of NiSource by 153.2% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 105.0% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Price Performance

NI stock opened at $39.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.48, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $39.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.60 and a 12-month high of $41.45.

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

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares in the company, 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 through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.