Sanctuary Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 24.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 25,018 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $2,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,334,739 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,824,000 after acquiring an additional 90,755 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of NiSource by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 4,382 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in NiSource by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 29,223 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE:NI opened at $40.09 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $37.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.59 and a 1-year high of $40.22.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.28 dividend. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s payout ratio is 69.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NI shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.13.

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.