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

Key Points

• NiSource CFO Shawn Anderson sold 6,500 shares for $292,500 at $45 per share under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan; he retained 160,080 shares.
• NiSource reported quarterly EPS of $0.27, beating the $0.23 analyst consensus, and revenue of $1.35 billion, slightly above estimates.
• The company declared a $0.30 quarterly dividend, equivalent to $1.20 annually and a 2.7% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $48.58.

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

NiSource Stock Performance

NiSource stock traded down $0.23 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $44.63. The stock had a trading volume of 4,810,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,815,637. The stock's 50 day moving average is $41.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.84. NiSource, Inc has a 1 year low of $38.42 and a 1 year high of $49.21. The stock has a market cap of $21.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.55. 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 (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 13.56%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. 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 2.7%. NiSource's payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

Institutional Trading of NiSource

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in NiSource by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 3,093 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in NiSource by 7.5% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 10,616 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $414,000 after acquiring an additional 745 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in NiSource by 69.1% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 26,126 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 10,679 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 30,490 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,189,000 after buying an additional 2,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Trust Co grew its position in NiSource by 46.6% during 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 during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NI shares. Barclays reduced 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. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of NiSource in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. HSBC assumed coverage on NiSource in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $49.50 price target on the stock. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on NiSource from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on NiSource in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $43.00 price target 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.58.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.