NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Sit Investment Associates Inc.

Sit Investment Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 315,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 21,280 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc. owned 0.07% of NiSource worth $11,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in NiSource by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,793,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,124,492,000 after buying an additional 2,459,452 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of NiSource by 5.8% during the third 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 during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 88.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $516,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,991,608 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in NiSource by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,448,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $419,765,000 after purchasing an additional 700,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth $195,745,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on NI shares. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $39.33.

NiSource Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NI stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $38.18. 2,518,102 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,125,689. The firm has a market cap of $17.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.68, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.16 and a 200 day moving average of $37.17. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.26 and a 1 year high of $41.45. 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 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 firm posted $0.53 EPS. Analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.14%.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.