NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp trimmed its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 60,590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 676 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in NiSource were worth $2,227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 153.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE:NI opened at $40.09 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $18.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $37.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.59 and a 1-year high of $40.22.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. NiSource’s payout ratio is currently 69.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NI shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.13.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.