First Manhattan CO. LLC. Sells 9,399 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. lessened its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 167,425 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,399 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC.'s holdings in NiSource were worth $6,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of NiSource by 153.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 105.0% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays increased their price target on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.50.

NiSource Stock Down 3.4%

NYSE:NI traded down $1.33 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $38.25. The stock had a trading volume of 4,768,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,167,292. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $39.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.94. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.60 and a 1-year high of $41.45. The company has a market capitalization of $18.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.54%.

Insider Activity

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.