Convergence Investment Partners LLC Sells 2,379 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC lessened its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,934 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,379 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 41.4% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in NiSource by 82.5% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total transaction of $297,019.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,720 shares in the company, valued at $632,375.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NI traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.94. The stock had a trading volume of 4,606,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,448,392. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.96 and a 200-day moving average of $26.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $12.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.49. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.86 and a 12-month high of $28.95.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). NiSource had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is 72.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 24th.

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.