NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp lessened its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 213,068 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 29,327 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in NiSource were worth $7,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in NiSource by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,352,182 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,852,000 after purchasing an additional 273,159 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 88.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $516,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,991,608 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $233,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 50,667 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,863,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $246,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,150,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,154,231. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.03 and a 200 day moving average of $38.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.59 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.79 and a twelve month high of $41.45.

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

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.54%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the company'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 now owns 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 through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.