Mizuho Securities USA LLC Lowers Position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC cut its stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 14.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,612 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 64.2% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 48.8% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 44.7% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 105.0% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE NI opened at $42.17 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.48. NiSource, Inc has a 1-year low of $31.28 and a 1-year high of $43.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 14.46%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.21 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NI has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $44.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, August 4th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $233,590.18. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $701,035.21. This represents a 24.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total value of $245,468.34. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.