Xponance Inc. Sells 83,368 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Xponance Inc. cut its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 56.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,891 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 83,368 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in NiSource were worth $2,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,691,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $786,249,000 after buying an additional 1,247,368 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 88.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $516,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,991,608 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 0.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,396,489 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $394,888,000 after acquiring an additional 99,882 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of NiSource by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,747,328 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $371,139,000 after purchasing an additional 178,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of NiSource by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,124,909 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $176,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,078 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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NiSource Stock Performance

NI traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.94. 4,530,350 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,541,132. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.25 and a 52-week high of $41.44. 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 company's fifty day moving average price is $38.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.76.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.14%.

Insider Activity

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now 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. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on NI. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, NiSource has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price 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.