NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Holdings Decreased by ExodusPoint Capital Management LP

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lowered its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 42.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,394,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,465,152 shares during the quarter. NiSource makes up approximately 0.9% of ExodusPoint Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP owned about 0.73% of NiSource worth $124,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 110.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,273 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares during the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank increased its stake in NiSource by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 567,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,850,000 after purchasing an additional 16,364 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in NiSource by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,712,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $99,720,000 after purchasing an additional 483,491 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in NiSource by 88.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $516,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,991,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $566,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at NiSource

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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI opened at $40.72 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.14 billion, a PE ratio of 25.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $26.26 and a one year high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. 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 report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.33.

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.