Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New $565,000 Investment in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 15,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $565,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth about $15,961,000. Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth about $47,389,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 185.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 9,244,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $339,837,000 after purchasing an additional 6,001,486 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 42,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238 shares during the period. Finally, Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NI opened at $39.49 on Wednesday. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.60 and a 1-year high of $41.45. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $18.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.10 and a 200 day moving average of $38.08.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NI shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group lifted 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. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $41.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total value of $233,590.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $701,035.21. The trade was a 24.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

NiSource 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.