NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Purchased by Mather Group LLC.

Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 31.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in NiSource by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,691,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $786,249,000 after buying an additional 1,247,368 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in NiSource by 88.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $516,373,000 after buying an additional 6,991,608 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in NiSource by 0.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,396,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $394,888,000 after buying an additional 99,882 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 3.0% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 10,823,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $375,020,000 after purchasing an additional 316,225 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 178,365 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $37.88 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $36.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.03. The stock has a market cap of $17.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.54. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.80 and a fifty-two 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.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. This is a boost from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated 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. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

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.