NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Stock Holdings Lessened by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,624,486 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 40,391 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.35% of NiSource worth $59,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 153.2% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 105.0% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NiSource stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $38.94. 604,498 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,152,744. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.60 and a twelve month high of $41.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. Research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. NiSource's payout ratio is currently 60.54%.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other NiSource news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $233,590.18. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $701,035.21. This represents a 24.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NI. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.50.

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.