NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 217,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,500 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in NiSource were worth $7,991,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in NiSource by 153.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in NiSource during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in NiSource in the third quarter worth about $47,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE NI opened at $39.83 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $18.72 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.57 and a 200-day moving average of $35.79. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.59 and a 52-week high of $40.29.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho lifted 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.13.

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.