NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Stock Position Reduced by Magellan Asset Management Ltd

Magellan Asset Management Ltd trimmed its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 354,832 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 51,220 shares during the quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.08% of NiSource worth $13,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Securian Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in NiSource by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 31,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,156,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 5,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 48,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,788,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of NiSource by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on NI shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group raised 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $39.33.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI opened at $40.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.06 and its 200-day moving average is $37.01. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $26.26 and a one year high of $41.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.14%.

NiSource 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.