Leeward Investments LLC MA Has $13.27 Million Stock Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Leeward Investments LLC MA cut its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 499,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 13,506 shares during the quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings in NiSource were worth $13,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NI. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 497 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 491 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted 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 acquiring an additional 985 shares during the period. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in NiSource during the third quarter valued at about $55,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NI opened at $27.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.86 and a 12 month high of $28.95. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $26.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.29.

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

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. NiSource’s payout ratio is 72.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on NI. StockNews.com upgraded shares of NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In other news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $632,375.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.