Praxis Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Praxis Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 82.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,960 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 9,000 shares during the period. Praxis Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in NiSource were worth $800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in NiSource by 110.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,273 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Inc. CA acquired a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter worth about $34,612,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 4,382 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 1,531 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,075,372 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,291,000 after acquiring an additional 43,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,035,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NiSource stock traded down $0.76 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $39.76. 3,857,716 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,124,347. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.51. NiSource, Inc has a 52-week low of $28.42 and a 52-week high of $41.45. 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 (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's payout ratio is presently 60.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $245,468.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,138,528.44. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 4,000 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.22, for a total value of $152,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,719 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $944,760.18. This represents a 13.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,405 shares of company stock valued at $631,939. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on NI shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. 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. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.50.

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.