Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Lowers Stock Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC cut its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,483 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $783,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in NiSource by 153.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in NiSource during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the third quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource by 423.6% during the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.13.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NI opened at $40.09 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.54. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.59 and a 52 week high of $40.22.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 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 firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. This is a boost from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is 69.14%.

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.