Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. Sells 13,210 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. cut its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 46.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,210 shares during the quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.'s holdings in NiSource were worth $553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in NiSource during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in NiSource by 153.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in NiSource during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in NiSource by 95.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,679 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE NI traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $39.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,746,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,144,278. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.58. The stock has a market cap of $18.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.46 and a 52 week high of $41.45. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. NiSource's payout ratio is 69.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group raised their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $40.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.