3Chopt Investment Partners LLC Acquires 359 Shares of NiSource, Inc $NI

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource by 48.8% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in NiSource by 57.3% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in NiSource by 39.4% during the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,551 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in NiSource during the first quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NI opened at $42.86 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $42.03 and its 200 day moving average is $40.43. NiSource, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $33.74 and a fifty-two week high of $44.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.59.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. NiSource had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 8.25%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.21 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. NiSource’s payout ratio is 59.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NI shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of NiSource to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of NiSource from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday, September 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.44.

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.