NiSource (NYSE:NI) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $40.95 and last traded at $41.04, with a volume of 165146 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.13.

NiSource Trading Down 0.2 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $37.99 and its 200-day moving average is $36.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $18.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. Analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. NiSource’s payout ratio is 69.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NiSource

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in NiSource by 153.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

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.