Insider Selling: NiSource (NYSE:NI) CFO Sells $292,500.00 in Stock

NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) CFO Shawn Anderson sold 6,500 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $292,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 160,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,203,600. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

NiSource Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE NI traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $44.63. 4,810,295 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,815,637. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. NiSource, Inc has a 52-week low of $38.42 and a 52-week high of $49.21. The firm has a market cap of $21.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.89, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.84.

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

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

Institutional Trading of NiSource

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Caldwell Trust Co lifted 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 purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new stake in NiSource in the second quarter worth about $35,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. HSBC began coverage on NiSource in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.50 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on NiSource from $52.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Mizuho cut their target price 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, Scotiabank initiated coverage on NiSource in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.58.

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.