NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Purchased by Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 244,729 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,835 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.05% of NiSource worth $7,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NiSource during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in NiSource in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,553 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 491 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other NiSource news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 3,742 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total transaction of $104,626.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,978 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $558,584.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on NI shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.00.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI traded up $0.25 during trading on Thursday, reaching $32.57. The company had a trading volume of 2,171,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,225,637. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.86 and a 12 month high of $32.59. The company has a fifty day moving average of $30.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.50.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.06. NiSource had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 9.56%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.28%.

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.