Sigma Planning Corp Sells 13,045 Shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Sigma Planning Corp lowered its holdings in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 21.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,545 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,045 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp's holdings in NiSource were worth $1,906,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,522,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in NiSource by 133.1% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 84,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,114,000 after acquiring an additional 48,367 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in NiSource by 343.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,202 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 1,705 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in NiSource by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 184,642 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,787,000 after purchasing an additional 12,972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 599,130 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $22,024,000 after purchasing an additional 12,885 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.50.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In related news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $245,468.34. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,882 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,528.44. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly owned 18,541 shares in the company, valued at $701,035.21. This trade represents a 24.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,405 shares of company stock valued at $631,939. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

NiSource Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE NI traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $40.33. The stock had a trading volume of 2,089,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,131,501. The company's 50 day moving average price is $39.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.86. 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 twelve month low of $30.06 and a twelve month high of $41.45. The firm has a market cap of $18.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.54.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 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 business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's payout ratio is 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.