NiSource (NYSE:NI) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $40.29 and last traded at $39.94, with a volume of 4369919 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $38.13.

NiSource Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $18.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. On average, analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.14%.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in NiSource by 153.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in NiSource in the third quarter worth $33,000. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

About NiSource

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.