Man Group plc Trims Stock Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Man Group plc lowered its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 38.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 141,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 87,920 shares during the period. Man Group plc's holdings in NiSource were worth $5,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 153.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. raised 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE:NI traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $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 market cap of $18.36 billion, a PE ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. 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 one year low of $27.60 and a one year high of $41.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $39.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.18.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's payout ratio is 60.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho upped their price objective 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 raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $41.50.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In related news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 18,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $701,035.21. This trade represents a 24.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NiSource Company 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.