NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC decreased its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 73,029 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,131 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC's holdings in NiSource were worth $2,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 13,987 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in NiSource by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $922,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc. grew its stake in NiSource by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 31,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 5,648 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 48,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NiSource news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 18,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $701,035.21. The trade was a 24.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho increased their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $41.50.

NiSource Price Performance

NI stock traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $39.01. 3,073,894 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,162,775. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.60 and a 12-month high of $41.45. The stock's 50 day moving average is $39.06 and its 200 day moving average is $38.20. The company has a market cap of $18.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's payout ratio is 60.54%.

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.