Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 128,652 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 21.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 468,520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 128,652 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $17,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in NiSource by 17.8% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 421,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,589,000 after purchasing an additional 63,563 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 119,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,130,000 after buying an additional 20,444 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at about $325,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of NiSource by 4.9% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 88,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,064,000 after acquiring an additional 4,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in NiSource by 0.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,396,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $394,888,000 after acquiring an additional 99,882 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $39.76 on Friday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.80. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.26 and a 1 year high of $41.45. The company has a market capitalization of $18.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. Research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource’s payout ratio is 69.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NI shares. UBS Group raised their price target on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. 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 note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $39.33.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.