NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC cut its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 745,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 14,467 shares during the period. NiSource makes up approximately 2.0% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $27,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in NiSource by 153.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on NI shares. Mizuho upped their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group boosted 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, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.33.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other NiSource 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 value 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 $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NiSource Stock Up 0.7 %

NiSource stock opened at $39.21 on Friday. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.05 and a twelve month 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. The firm has a market cap of $18.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $39.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.34.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share 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 last year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is 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.