NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. decreased its holdings in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 56.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 49,453 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 63,928 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in NiSource by 64.2% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in NiSource by 44.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its position in NiSource by 105.0% during the 4th 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. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

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 stock was sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $245,468.34. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,882 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,528.44. This trade represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,541 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho raised 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 price objective 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 raised their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group upped their target price on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, NiSource presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $41.50.

NiSource Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $40.01 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.58. NiSource, Inc has a 52-week low of $28.42 and a 52-week high of $41.45. The firm has a market cap of $18.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.54. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.54%.

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.

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