Community Trust & Investment Co. Sells 39,959 Shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Community Trust & Investment Co. lowered its position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 33.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,879 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 39,959 shares during the quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co.'s holdings in NiSource were worth $3,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in NiSource by 64.2% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in NiSource by 44.7% in 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. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. increased its holdings 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 valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total value of $233,590.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,541 shares in the company, valued at $701,035.21. The trade was a 24.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,405 shares of company stock valued at $631,939 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NiSource Trading Down 0.1%

NiSource stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $39.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,725,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,142,761. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.15 and a 200-day moving average of $38.43. The stock has a market cap of $18.48 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.52. NiSource, Inc has a one year low of $28.08 and a one year high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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 quarter in the prior year, the company 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on NI shares. Barclays raised their target price on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Mizuho boosted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average 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.