NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Alaska Permanent Fund Corp

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lessened its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 24.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,560 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,724 shares during the quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in NiSource were worth $237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in NiSource by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Tobam increased its stake in NiSource by 3,994.6% during the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 2,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 2,237 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI opened at $28.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.66. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.86 and a 1 year high of $29.44. The company’s fifty day moving average is $28.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.09.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. NiSource had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 14.23%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. NiSource’s payout ratio is currently 69.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of NiSource in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on NiSource from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on NiSource from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.20.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 3,742 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total value of $104,626.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,978 shares in the company, valued at $558,584.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.