Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Lowers Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lessened its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,899,976 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 132,527 shares during the quarter. NiSource comprises 1.6% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned 0.84% of NiSource worth $135,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the third quarter worth about $748,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,068,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,865,926 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $53,757,000 after acquiring an additional 144,197 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $798,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in NiSource by 0.7% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,374,053 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $183,636,000 after purchasing an additional 44,598 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NI has been the subject of several research reports. 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 for the company. Barclays increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.50.

NiSource Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NI traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $36.63. 5,285,580 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,029,156. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The stock's 50-day moving average is $35.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.56. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.80 and a 12 month high of $38.56. The stock has a market cap of $17.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.53.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.05. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $986.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. NiSource's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.