State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Has $8.46 Million Stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury reduced its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 230,172 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 14,513 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in NiSource were worth $8,461,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 153.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in NiSource by 95.7% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,679 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Price Performance

NI stock opened at $39.32 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $18.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.27, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $39.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.46. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.46 and a 12-month high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. On average, analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 2.85%. NiSource's payout ratio is presently 69.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the company'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 transaction of $219,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.