Nuveen Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,008,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 114,964 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.43% of NiSource worth $73,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on NI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price 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. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. 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 an average price target of $41.50.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NI opened at $39.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.60 and a 52 week high of $41.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $39.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.01. The firm has a market cap of $18.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53.

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

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.54%.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other NiSource news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was 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 directly owns 18,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $701,035.21. This trade represents a 24.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.