NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank cut its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 252,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 86,887 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in NiSource were worth $9,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NI. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 129,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,774,000 after buying an additional 8,676 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. boosted its position in NiSource by 195.9% during the 4th quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 21,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14,303 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in NiSource by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its position in NiSource by 0.6% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth $8,607,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $38.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a PE ratio of 23.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.04 and a 1 year high of $41.44.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released 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 quarter last year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.28 dividend. This is a boost from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is 69.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.