NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Bought by Buckingham Capital Management Inc.

Buckingham Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 117.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 85,503 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 46,269 shares during the quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in NiSource were worth $2,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of NiSource by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,334 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in NiSource by 12.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,442 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank increased its holdings in NiSource by 0.7% in the second quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 53,719 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,548,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in NiSource by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 62,589 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,803,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in NiSource by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,444 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

NI traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $36.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,836,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,042,340. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.61 and a fifty-two week high of $36.40.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.00 million. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on NI shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NiSource has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.50.

NiSource Company 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.