Edgestream Partners L.P. Sells 106,443 Shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Edgestream Partners L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 45.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 127,707 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 106,443 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in NiSource were worth $5,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in NiSource by 64.2% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 44.7% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its holdings in NiSource by 105.0% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the period. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 18,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $701,035.21. The trade was a 24.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $245,468.34. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,138,528.44. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,405 shares of company stock valued at $631,939 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.50.

NiSource Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE NI traded up $0.28 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $40.15. The company had a trading volume of 5,102,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,137,226. The business's 50-day moving average is $39.39 and its 200 day moving average is $38.85. NiSource, Inc has a 12-month low of $29.79 and a 12-month high of $41.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $18.90 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.54.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 14.67%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.54%.

NiSource Company 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.