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

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 9.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 204,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 22,200 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in NiSource were worth $8,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NI. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in NiSource by 60.1% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 30,494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after acquiring an additional 11,452 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 41.6% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 39,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after purchasing an additional 11,671 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the first quarter valued at approximately $105,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of NiSource by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kimberly S. Cuccia sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $345,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 41,247 shares in the company, valued at $1,778,983.11. This represents a 16.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NiSource Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NI stock opened at $43.98 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.48. 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. The firm has a market cap of $20.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.27, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.65.

NiSource Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho increased their target price on NiSource from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays set a $45.00 target price on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.