Aurora Investment Counsel Sells 520 Shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Aurora Investment Counsel decreased its stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 6.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 520 shares during the quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in NiSource were worth $329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in NiSource by 64.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in NiSource by 44.7% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its position in NiSource by 105.0% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:NI opened at $39.56 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $18.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.54. NiSource, Inc has a twelve month low of $29.67 and a twelve month high of $41.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company’s 50 day moving average is $39.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.82.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. Analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource’s payout ratio is 60.54%.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other NiSource news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $233,590.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $701,035.21. The trade was a 24.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $245,468.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 28,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,405 shares of company stock valued at $631,939. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.