Convergence Investment Partners LLC Has $1.35 Million Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of NiSource by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC now owns 27,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $736,000 after buying an additional 1,445 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of NiSource by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 438,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,643,000 after buying an additional 53,448 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in shares of NiSource by 303.4% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 814,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,637,000 after buying an additional 612,919 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in shares of NiSource by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 824,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,903,000 after buying an additional 48,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management raised its position in shares of NiSource by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 122,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,263,000 after buying an additional 892 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NI traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $27.94. 4,606,910 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,448,392. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $26.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $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. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.86 and a twelve month high of $28.95.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 10.10%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total transaction of $297,019.06. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

About NiSource

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.