NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 34.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 989,743 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 521,937 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.21% of NiSource worth $39,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 48.8% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 44.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. increased its position in shares of NiSource by 105.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NI shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.50.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In other news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total value of $233,590.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $701,035.21. This represents a 24.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. This represents a 17.74% 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 valued at $631,939 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI traded up $0.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.92. 3,870,292 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,153,145. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.42 and a 200-day moving average of $38.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.54. NiSource, Inc has a 12 month low of $30.49 and a 12 month high of $41.45.

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. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 8.41%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. 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.