Natixis Sells 9,440 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Natixis reduced its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 77.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,795 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,440 shares during the quarter. Natixis' holdings in NiSource were worth $103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 153.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $66,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NiSource Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE NI traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.72. 4,960,049 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,150,265. The company's fifty day moving average is $39.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.62. 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 fifty-two week low of $27.46 and a fifty-two week high of $41.45. The stock has a market cap of $18.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48.

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 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. NiSource's payout ratio is presently 69.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays increased their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.11.

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.