NiSource (NYSE:NI) Upgraded to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NiSource (NYSE:NI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. HSBC started coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.50 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of NiSource in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of NiSource from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.58.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI opened at $44.56 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. NiSource has a 12 month low of $38.42 and a 12 month high of $49.21. The company has a market cap of $21.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.55.

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

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a $0.30 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.54%.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In other NiSource news, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 37,509 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.40, for a total transaction of $1,590,381.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 78,527 shares in the company, valued at $3,329,544.80. The trade was a 32.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NiSource

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the second quarter worth about $2,613,234,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the second quarter valued at $574,295,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 4.4% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,381,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $208,364,000 after purchasing an additional 183,321 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in NiSource in the second quarter worth $179,838,000. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON increased its position in NiSource by 154.7% in the first quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 3,680,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $171,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,235,394 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About NiSource

NiSource Inc is a regulated energy holding company based in Merrillville, Indiana. Through its operating companies, the company provides natural gas distribution and electric utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

NiSource’s natural gas operations include Columbia Gas utilities serving customers in several states, including Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Its electric utility, Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), serves customers in northern Indiana and provides both electric power and natural gas services.

The company’s operations include energy delivery infrastructure, utility system maintenance, customer services and investments intended to support reliability and the transition of its generation portfolio.