Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 32.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 531,306 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 252,850 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of NiSource worth $19,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,793,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,124,492,000 after purchasing an additional 2,459,452 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in NiSource by 88.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $516,373,000 after buying an additional 6,991,608 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,448,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $419,765,000 after acquiring an additional 700,747 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $195,745,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,261,578 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $156,656,000 after acquiring an additional 155,808 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NiSource stock traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $39.21. 3,938,179 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,142,104. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.46 and a 52-week high of $41.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $39.29 and a 200-day moving average of $37.37.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business earned $0.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on NI shares. UBS Group upped their target price on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $39.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by 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.