NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,144,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 506,137 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.89% of NiSource worth $152,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in NiSource by 88.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $516,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,991,608 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in NiSource by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,124,909 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $176,194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,078 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in NiSource by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,691,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $786,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247,368 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,162,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in NiSource by 793.3% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 883,387 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,609,000 after acquiring an additional 784,495 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on NI shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $38.89.

NiSource Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:NI traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.18. 10,561,717 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,705,532. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.26 and a 12-month high of $41.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $38.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.41 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.