NiSource, Inc (NI) – What Are Analysts Saying About This Stock?

NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.58.

NI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of NiSource from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of NiSource from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reduced their price target on shares of NiSource from $51.50 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on NiSource in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of NiSource in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In other news, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 37,509 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.40, for a total value of $1,590,381.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 78,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,329,544.80. This represents a 32.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Shawn Anderson sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $292,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 160,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,203,600. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NiSource

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,118 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Caldwell Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in NiSource by 35.8% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its position in NiSource by 5.5% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 7,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in NiSource by 5.6% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:NI opened at $44.10 on Friday. NiSource has a 1 year low of $38.42 and a 1 year high of $49.21. The stock has a market cap of $21.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day moving average of $41.59 and a 200-day moving average of $44.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.50.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.04. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 13.56%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that NiSource will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. NiSource’s payout ratio is 61.54%.

About NiSource

NiSource Inc is a regulated energy holding company that delivers natural gas and electricity through its local utility subsidiaries. Its businesses focus on operating and maintaining energy infrastructure and providing service to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

The company’s natural gas utilities serve customers in Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Its electric utility, Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), serves customers in northern Indiana.

NiSource traces its roots to Northern Indiana Public Service Company, established in 1912.