3Chopt Investment Partners LLC Acquires New Position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,906 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $317,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in NiSource by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,793,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,124,492,000 after acquiring an additional 2,459,452 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in NiSource by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,370,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $785,563,000 after buying an additional 1,965,334 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,448,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $419,765,000 after buying an additional 700,747 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in NiSource by 185.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 9,244,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $339,837,000 after acquiring an additional 6,001,486 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in NiSource by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,199,873 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $301,427,000 after acquiring an additional 2,714,262 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Mizuho lifted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $233,590.18. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,541 shares in the company, valued at $701,035.21. This trade represents a 24.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total value of $245,468.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,138,528.44. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE NI traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $40.21. The stock had a trading volume of 1,470,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,115,385. The stock has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.55. NiSource, Inc has a 52-week low of $28.42 and a 52-week high of $41.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.34 and a 200 day moving average of $38.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.52.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 8.41%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given 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 dividend yield of 2.79%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.54%.

NiSource Profile

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.