NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Ausbil Investment Management Ltd

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd cut its holdings in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 183,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 14,812 shares during the period. NiSource comprises approximately 4.8% of Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in NiSource were worth $7,355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in NiSource by 64.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource by 44.7% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its holdings in NiSource by 105.0% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $39.51 on Monday. NiSource, Inc has a 1 year low of $28.29 and a 1 year high of $41.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $18.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s fifty day moving average is $39.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.48.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 8.41%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. Analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.54%.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In other NiSource news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.22, for a total transaction of $152,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $944,760.18. This represents a 13.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $245,468.34. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,882 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,528.44. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939 over the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NI shares. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $41.50.

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.