NiSource (NYSE:NI) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $44.95 and last traded at $44.55, with a volume of 436614 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $49.00 target price on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays set a $45.00 target price on NiSource in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.11.

NiSource Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $21.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.34.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $983.25 million. NiSource had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 8.09%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.20 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 3rd. NiSource’s payout ratio is presently 59.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NiSource news, EVP Kimberly S. Cuccia sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $345,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 41,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,778,983.11. The trade was a 16.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in NiSource by 181.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its stake in NiSource by 195.5% during the 2nd quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 182,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,380,000 after purchasing an additional 121,043 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 10.6% during the second quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 340,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,737,000 after buying an additional 32,595 shares in the last quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC lifted its stake in NiSource by 138.7% in the 2nd quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC now owns 29,720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,199,000 after purchasing an additional 17,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in NiSource by 1.3% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,215,924 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $170,070,000 after buying an additional 55,515 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Company Profile

NiSource, Inc (NYSE: NI) is a publicly traded energy holding company headquartered in Merrillville, Indiana, that primarily owns and operates regulated local gas and electric utilities in the United States. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company delivers natural gas and electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers and provides the associated distribution and transmission services that keep local energy systems functioning.

The company’s core activities include natural gas distribution, electric transmission and distribution, system operations, maintenance and emergency response.