Mackenzie Financial Corp Lowers Stock Position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp reduced its stake in NiSource, Inc by 18.5%, selling 39,316 shares and leaving it with 173,752 shares worth approximately $6.97 million.
• Insider trading activity has been noted, with EVP Melanie B. Berman and Director Michael E. Jesanis selling significant amounts of their shares, reducing their holdings by 17.74% and 24.99% respectively.
• NiSource recently announced a $0.28 quarterly dividend, translating to an annualized yield of 2.6%, with the ex-dividend date set for July 31st.

Mackenzie Financial Corp lessened its stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 18.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 173,752 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 39,316 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in NiSource were worth $6,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake 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 period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in NiSource by 48.8% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 44.7% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 105.0% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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 business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 28,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $233,590.18. Following the sale, the director owned 18,541 shares in the company, valued at $701,035.21. The trade was a 24.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $42.47 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $40.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.54. NiSource, Inc has a 12 month low of $30.53 and a 12 month high of $42.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $41.50.

NiSource 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.

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