ProShare Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 153.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 105.0% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on NI shares. Guggenheim increased 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. Barclays upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $41.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total value of $233,590.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $701,035.21. This represents a 24.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI opened at $39.88 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $18.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.08 and a 200 day moving average of $38.07. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $27.60 and a one year high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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