Sei Investments Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Sei Investments Co. lessened its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 740,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 111,927 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.16% of NiSource worth $27,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NI. Securian Asset Management Inc. grew its position in NiSource by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 31,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 5,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 48,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 4.1% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NI shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $38.89.

NiSource Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE NI opened at $39.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.26 and a 52 week high of $41.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $38.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Company 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.