Cwm LLC Sells 37,244 Shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Cwm LLC lessened its position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 722,092 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 37,244 shares during the period. Cwm LLC owned about 0.15% of NiSource worth $28,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,793,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,124,492,000 after buying an additional 2,459,452 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in NiSource by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,370,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $785,563,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965,334 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,448,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $419,765,000 after acquiring an additional 700,747 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in NiSource by 185.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 9,244,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $339,837,000 after purchasing an additional 6,001,486 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in NiSource by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,199,873 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $301,427,000 after buying an additional 2,714,262 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NI has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group upped 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. 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 report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays upped their target price on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Mizuho increased their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.50.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI opened at $39.56 on Monday. NiSource, Inc has a 12-month low of $29.67 and a 12-month high of $41.45. The company has a market cap of $18.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.82.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is 60.54%.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In related news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total value of $233,590.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $701,035.21. This represents a 24.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total value of $245,468.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.

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