Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Reduces Stock Position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lowered its stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 16.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 246,844 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 47,934 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY owned 0.05% of NiSource worth $9,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in NiSource by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 13,987 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in NiSource by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in NiSource by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,303 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position 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. Finally, Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its position in NiSource by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 31,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,156,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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. 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. 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. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $41.50.

NiSource Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NiSource stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $39.47. The stock had a trading volume of 2,207,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,137,432. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 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. NiSource, Inc has a 1 year low of $28.42 and a 1 year high of $41.45.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 14.67%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. NiSource's payout ratio is currently 60.54%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 18,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $701,035.21. This trade represents a 24.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total value of $245,468.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 28,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939. Company 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.