Jennison Associates LLC Sells 102,916 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,720,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 102,916 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 2.30% of NiSource worth $394,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NI. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in NiSource by 153.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in NiSource in the third quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in NiSource in the third quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Mizuho upped their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NiSource presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.50.

NiSource Price Performance

NI opened at $37.33 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.42 billion, a PE ratio of 22.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.54. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.80 and a 52 week high of $38.83.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.24%.

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.