AGF Management Ltd. Decreases Stock Position in NiSource, Inc $NI

AGF Management Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 109,671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 23,543 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $4,749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the third quarter valued at about $413,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in NiSource by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 205,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,742,000 after purchasing an additional 22,553 shares in the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 31,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 10,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 2,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of NiSource by 2.9% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 23,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In related news, EVP Kimberly S. Cuccia sold 8,000 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $345,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 41,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,778,983.11. This trade represents a 16.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $43.92 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.65. NiSource, Inc has a 12-month low of $35.64 and a 12-month high of $44.95. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $42.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NI shares. Barclays set a $45.00 price objective on NiSource in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.11.

NiSource Profile

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.