Calamos Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Calamos Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 3.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 224,512 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,195 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC owned 0.05% of NiSource worth $6,468,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMG National Trust Bank purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,401,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 10.5% during the second quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 21,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in NiSource by 8.4% in the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 98,892 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,849,000 after purchasing an additional 7,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. grew its position in NiSource by 37.2% in the 2nd quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 6,811 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 3,742 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total transaction of $104,626.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,978 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $558,584.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NiSource stock traded up $0.05 on Friday, hitting $32.62. 3,158,252 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,219,067. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.50. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.86 and a 1 year high of $32.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.66.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.06. NiSource had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 9.56%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.28%.

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.