NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 10.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,415 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $795,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in NiSource by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,955,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,432,512,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850,842 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in NiSource by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,525,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $226,353,000 after buying an additional 1,826,202 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its holdings in NiSource by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 7,272,420 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $193,083,000 after buying an additional 450,818 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in NiSource by 123.6% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,593,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $148,517,000 after buying an additional 3,092,138 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 4,336,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,142,000 after acquiring an additional 322,360 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In related news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 3,742 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $558,584.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NI opened at $28.70 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.87 billion, a PE ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.86 and a fifty-two week high of $29.44. 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 (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.02. NiSource had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 9.56%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. NiSource’s payout ratio is 69.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NI shares. Barclays lifted their target price on NiSource from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on NiSource from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of NiSource in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.20.

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.