Covalis Capital LLP Has $4.48 Million Stock Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Covalis Capital LLP lowered its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 84.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 121,911 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 637,863 shares during the quarter. Covalis Capital LLP's holdings in NiSource were worth $4,481,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in NiSource by 153.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho increased their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $39.89.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value 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 approximately $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NiSource Price Performance

NI traded up $0.40 during trading on Thursday, reaching $39.72. The stock had a trading volume of 834,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,711,572. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.46 and a 1-year high of $41.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

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

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.