Insider Selling: NiSource (NYSE:NI) CFO Sells $296,270.00 in Stock

Key Points

• NiSource CFO Shawn Anderson sold 6,500 shares for $296,270 at an average price of $45.58, reducing his stake by 4.06% to 153,580 shares. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• NiSource reported quarterly EPS of $0.27, beating the $0.23 consensus estimate, and revenue of $1.35 billion versus expectations of $1.34 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.20 and a 2.7% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with a $48.58 average price target.

NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) CFO Shawn Anderson sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.58, for a total value of $296,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 153,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,000,176.40. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Shawn Anderson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, October 30th, Shawn Anderson sold 6,500 shares of NiSource stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $292,500.00.

NiSource Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE:NI traded up $0.89 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $45.04. The company had a trading volume of 4,371,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,836,039. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.50. NiSource, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $38.42 and a fifty-two week high of $49.21. The firm has a market cap of $21.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.53. The business's fifty day moving average is $41.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.87.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that NiSource, Inc will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on NiSource from $52.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on NiSource from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on NiSource from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered their target price on NiSource from $51.50 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.58.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the second quarter worth about $2,613,234,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $574,295,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in NiSource by 4.4% during the 2nd 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 worth $208,364,000 after acquiring an additional 183,321 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in NiSource during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $179,838,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $172,516,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Company Profile

NiSource Inc is a regulated energy holding company that delivers natural gas and electricity through its local utility subsidiaries. Its businesses focus on operating and maintaining energy infrastructure and providing service to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

The company's natural gas utilities serve customers in Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Its electric utility, Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), serves customers in northern Indiana.

NiSource traces its roots to Northern Indiana Public Service Company, established in 1912.

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