Korea Investment CORP Sells 123,200 Shares of NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP decreased its stake in NiSource, Inc by 43.7%, selling 123,200 shares and leaving them with a total of 158,507 shares valued at approximately $6.35 million.
• Other large investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Jennison Associates LLC, have recently increased their stakes in NiSource, showing a significant interest in the company.
• NiSource's stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a consensus price target of $42.56, following recent upgrades and downgrades from various research firms.

Korea Investment CORP decreased its holdings in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 43.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 158,507 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 123,200 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP's holdings in NiSource were worth $6,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 64.2% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in NiSource by 48.8% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in NiSource by 44.7% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its stake in NiSource by 105.0% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NiSource news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $42.41. 4,133,365 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,467,979. The company has a market cap of $19.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company's 50-day moving average price is $41.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.88. NiSource, Inc has a 52-week low of $32.53 and a 52-week high of $43.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.01. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.21 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. NiSource's payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NI. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim raised their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.56.

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.