Amundi Lowers Stock Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Amundi reduced its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,745,753 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 165,290 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned 0.37% of NiSource worth $63,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 129,877 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,774,000 after purchasing an additional 8,676 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 195.9% in the 4th quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 21,604 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $794,000 after buying an additional 14,303 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,379 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 48,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,788,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,607,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI stock opened at $38.87 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $38.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.32. The stock has a market cap of $18.26 billion, a PE ratio of 23.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.04 and a 1 year high of $41.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51.

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NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is an increase from NiSource's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares of the company's stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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