Bank of New York Mellon Corp Cuts Holdings in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 6.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,001,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 259,978 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.85% of NiSource worth $160,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the business'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 owned 18,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $701,035.21. The trade was a 24.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

NiSource Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:NI traded up $0.37 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.37. 3,420,846 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,127,510. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $39.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.54. NiSource, Inc has a 12-month low of $28.78 and a 12-month high of $41.45. 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 posted its quarterly 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. NiSource had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's payout ratio is currently 60.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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