Blue Trust Inc. Sells 884 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Blue Trust Inc. lessened its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 19.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 884 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $137,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NI. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 6.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 436,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,115,000 after acquiring an additional 26,572 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 249.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 30,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,071,000 after buying an additional 22,066 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in NiSource by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 61,251 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 13,171 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY increased its position in NiSource by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 21,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $754,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in NiSource by 148.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 53,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 32,042 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $40.09 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $37.42 and its 200 day moving average is $35.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $25.59 and a one year high of $40.22. The stock has a market cap of $18.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.54.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho upped 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 price objective on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.