NiSource (NYSE:NI) Cut to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• NiSource has been downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, a significant shift as one analyst now rates it this way while nine others have issued buy ratings.
• Even with the downgrade, several analysts like JPMorgan and Barclays have raised their price targets for NiSource, with a consensus target of $42.56.
• The utilities provider reported earnings of $0.22 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, while the current debt-to-equity ratio is at 1.32.

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NiSource (NYSE:NI - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on NI. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.56.

NiSource Price Performance

NYSE NI traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $42.45. 776,381 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,521,634. The company has a market capitalization of $19.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. NiSource has a 12-month low of $31.40 and a 12-month high of $43.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 14.46%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.21 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that NiSource will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $245,468.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 28,882 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,528.44. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of NiSource

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in NiSource by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,422,062 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,477,766,000 after buying an additional 578,061 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,020,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $962,997,000 after purchasing an additional 2,650,827 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,243,523 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $491,850,000 after purchasing an additional 124,868 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 11,734,790 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $473,381,000 after purchasing an additional 156,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 185.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 9,244,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $339,837,000 after purchasing an additional 6,001,486 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.