Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Trims Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC decreased its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 231,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 894 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $6,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NI. Achmea Investment Management B.V. bought a new position in NiSource in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in NiSource by 41.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new position in NiSource in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total transaction of $297,019.06. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $632,375.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on NI. Barclays upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th.

NiSource Price Performance

NI opened at $27.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.06. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.86 and a 52-week high of $28.95.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). NiSource had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. NiSource’s payout ratio is currently 72.11%.

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.