PDS Planning Inc Reduces Stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

PDS Planning Inc lessened its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 24.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,827 shares during the quarter. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in NiSource were worth $211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 110.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,273 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank increased its position in shares of NiSource by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 567,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,850,000 after purchasing an additional 16,364 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in NiSource by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,712,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,720,000 after purchasing an additional 483,491 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in NiSource by 88.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $516,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,991,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,068,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $39.35 on Thursday. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.26 and a 52-week high of $41.45. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $38.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.14%.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm’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 trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.