NiSource, Inc $NI Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 9.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 204,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 22,200 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in NiSource were worth $8,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NI. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in NiSource by 90.7% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of NiSource by 2,668.0% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Country Trust Bank acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on NiSource from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, December 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.11.

NiSource Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NI stock opened at $43.98 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.39. NiSource, Inc has a 1-year low of $35.64 and a 1-year high of $44.95.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 3rd. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NiSource news, EVP Kimberly S. Cuccia sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $345,040.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 41,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,778,983.11. This represents a 16.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

About NiSource

NiSource, Inc (NYSE: NI) is a publicly traded energy holding company headquartered in Merrillville, Indiana, that primarily owns and operates regulated local gas and electric utilities in the United States. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company delivers natural gas and electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers and provides the associated distribution and transmission services that keep local energy systems functioning.

The company’s core activities include natural gas distribution, electric transmission and distribution, system operations, maintenance and emergency response.