NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Position Reduced by Yaupon Capital Management LP

Yaupon Capital Management LP reduced its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 755,206 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 67,316 shares during the quarter. NiSource accounts for 1.1% of Yaupon Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Yaupon Capital Management LP owned about 0.16% of NiSource worth $27,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in NiSource by 88.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $516,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,991,608 shares during the period. Capital International Investors acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth $219,977,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at about $195,745,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,199,873 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $301,427,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714,262 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in NiSource by 4.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of NiSource 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays raised their price target on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group upped their price objective on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $40.33.

NiSource Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NiSource stock traded down $0.22 on Friday, hitting $39.46. 3,746,620 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,146,126. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.46 and a 52-week 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. The stock has a market cap of $18.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.36, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. The firm's 50-day moving average is $39.25 and its 200 day moving average is $37.53.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (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 last year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.14%.

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.