Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Lowers Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV trimmed its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 43.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,272 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,814 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in NiSource were worth $672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in NiSource by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 13,987 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $922,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 31,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 5,648 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank increased its stake in NiSource by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 48,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,788,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Price Performance

NYSE:NI traded down $0.51 on Tuesday, hitting $37.81. The company had a trading volume of 3,892,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,165,980. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.60 and a 52 week high of $41.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $39.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.93.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.54%.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on NI. Mizuho increased their price objective on 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. increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $41.50.

NiSource 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.