NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Stake Trimmed by Zimmer Partners LP

Zimmer Partners LP lowered its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 95.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 301,464 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,269,590 shares during the quarter. Zimmer Partners LP owned approximately 0.06% of NiSource worth $11,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in NiSource by 88.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in NiSource by 185.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 9,244,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $339,837,000 after acquiring an additional 6,001,486 shares during the period. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth about $219,977,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth about $195,745,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in NiSource by 49.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,199,873 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $301,427,000 after acquiring an additional 2,714,262 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $701,035.21. The trade was a 24.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim raised their price objective 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 raised their price objective on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report 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. Mizuho lifted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.50.

NiSource Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $39.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.60 and a 52-week high of $41.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.07.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.54%.

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.

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