NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 731,013 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,732 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.16% of NiSource worth $26,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NI. Securian Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 31,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its position in shares of NiSource by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 5,648 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank raised its stake in NiSource by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 48,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in NiSource by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,457 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

NI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised 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. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, NiSource has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $39.33.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NI traded up $0.59 during trading on Monday, hitting $39.08. The company had a trading volume of 392,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,739,744. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.25 and a 12 month high of $41.44. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $18.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.25.

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 in the previous year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.14%.

Insider Activity

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