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

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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 approximately $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI stock opened at $40.10 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $37.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $18.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.75, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.54. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.45 and a 12 month high of $40.15.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.13.

Institutional Trading of NiSource

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of NiSource by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 1,105 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of NiSource by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 436,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,115,000 after buying an additional 26,572 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth about $234,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of NiSource by 249.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 30,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,071,000 after buying an additional 22,066 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of NiSource by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 61,251 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,122,000 after buying an additional 13,171 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Company Profile

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.