NiSource (NYSE:NI) Stock Moved Down to “Sell” by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NiSource (NYSE:NI) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on NI. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered their target price on NiSource from $51.50 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of NiSource in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Scotiabank began coverage on NiSource in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Mizuho lowered their price objective on NiSource from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.58.

NiSource Price Performance

NYSE:NI opened at $44.10 on Friday. NiSource has a one year low of $38.42 and a one year high of $49.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.50. The firm 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $41.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.87.

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

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In other news, CFO Shawn Anderson sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $292,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 160,080 shares in the company, valued at $7,203,600. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 37,509 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 78,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,329,544.80. This represents a 32.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of NiSource

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in NiSource during the second quarter worth about $2,613,234,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in NiSource during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,663,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in NiSource by 44.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 545,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,937,000 after acquiring an additional 168,704 shares in the last quarter. Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,596,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in NiSource by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,400,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,347,000 after acquiring an additional 110,200 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Company Profile

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.