NiSource (NYSE:NI) Shares Break Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $44.84 and traded as high as $45.08. NiSource shares last traded at $44.9340, with a volume of 5,348,598 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays dropped their price target on NiSource from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 19th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their price objective on NiSource from $51.50 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded NiSource from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on NiSource from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.58.

NiSource Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $21.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly 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. NiSource had a net margin of 13.56% and a return on equity of 8.16%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.54%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Shawn Anderson sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $7,203,600. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 37,509 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.40, for a total value of $1,590,381.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 78,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,329,544.80. This represents a 32.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in NiSource in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,613,234,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the 2nd quarter worth about $574,295,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 183,321 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the second quarter valued at about $179,838,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in NiSource during the second quarter worth about $172,516,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Company Profile

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.