NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) CAO Gunnar Gode Sells 5,500 Shares of Stock

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

NiSource Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:NI opened at $39.86 on Wednesday. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.45 and a 1 year high of $39.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $18.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.47.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s payout ratio is presently 67.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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 boosted their target price on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.13.

Institutional Trading of NiSource

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NI. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in NiSource by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in NiSource by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 436,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,115,000 after acquiring an additional 26,572 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $234,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in NiSource by 249.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 30,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,071,000 after acquiring an additional 22,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in NiSource by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 61,251 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,122,000 after acquiring an additional 13,171 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About NiSource

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.