Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Grows Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 22.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 54,268 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,082 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in NiSource by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,691,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $786,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,368 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of NiSource by 88.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $516,373,000 after buying an additional 6,991,608 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,396,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $394,888,000 after acquiring an additional 99,882 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in NiSource by 3.0% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 10,823,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $375,020,000 after acquiring an additional 316,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in NiSource by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,747,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $371,139,000 after acquiring an additional 178,365 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE NI opened at $38.07 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $36.93 and its 200 day moving average is $35.14. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.80 and a 52 week high of $38.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $17.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.54.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is 67.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on NI. Mizuho lifted their price target on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

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.