NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Exchange Traded Concepts LLC

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lowered its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 713,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 75,717 shares during the period. NiSource comprises 0.6% of Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC owned about 0.16% of NiSource worth $24,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the first quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Price Performance

NYSE NI opened at $33.93 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.21 billion, a PE ratio of 22.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $33.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.27. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.58 and a 12-month high of $35.10.

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

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource’s payout ratio is 69.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.