Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Cuts Stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. cut its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 204,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 13,119 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $7,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Securian Asset Management Inc. raised its position in NiSource by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of NiSource by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 31,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank increased its position in shares of NiSource by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 48,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,788,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of NiSource by 4.1% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 3.2% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:NI opened at $39.32 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $26.26 and a one year high of $41.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.50. 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 (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was 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 directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.