ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 18,682 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

ProShare Advisors LLC lowered its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 105,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 18,682 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $3,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in NiSource by 153.2% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. increased its holdings in NiSource by 105.0% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other NiSource news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $233,590.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,541 shares in the company, valued at $701,035.21. The trade was a 24.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Guggenheim raised their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.50.

NiSource Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NI stock opened at $39.88 on Tuesday. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.60 and a 1 year high of $41.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.07. The company has a market cap of $18.77 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.54%.

NiSource 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.