NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Stock Position Increased by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,310 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $4,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the second quarter worth $25,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource in the first quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NI opened at $34.12 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.86 and a 52-week high of $34.56.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.06. NiSource had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 14.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Mizuho began coverage on NiSource in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Bank of America started coverage on NiSource in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.43.

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.