Van ECK Associates Corp Trims Stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Van ECK Associates Corp cut its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 281,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,030 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in NiSource were worth $9,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the second quarter worth $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in NiSource during the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Price Performance

NiSource stock opened at $35.17 on Thursday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.20. The stock has a market cap of $16.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.58 and a 12-month high of $35.49.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $986.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NI shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.