Victory Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,511,680 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 230,033 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of NiSource worth $55,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in NiSource by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 15,167 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $558,000 after acquiring an additional 1,653 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in shares of NiSource by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,271,039 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,723,000 after purchasing an additional 135,770 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,121,587 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $151,510,000 after purchasing an additional 207,391 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 126,669 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,656,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 4,026,404 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $148,011,000 after purchasing an additional 257,922 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NiSource stock traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $38.87. 5,877,327 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,412,155. The business has a 50-day moving average of $38.15 and a 200-day moving average of $36.28. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.04 and a 1 year high of $41.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from NiSource's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. NiSource's payout ratio is 69.14%.

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.