Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 75.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 662,504 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,050,220 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.14% of NiSource worth $26,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in NiSource by 110.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,273 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 1,195 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Inc. CA bought a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at $34,612,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in NiSource by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 4,382 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in NiSource by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,075,372 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,291,000 after purchasing an additional 43,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at $4,035,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:NI traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $39.34. 3,758,365 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,134,807. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $39.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.42. The company has a market cap of $18.52 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.54. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.83 and a 12 month high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $41.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $245,468.34. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $233,590.18. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $701,035.21. This trade represents a 24.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.