NiSource (NYSE:NI) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

NiSource (NYSE:NI) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on NI. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp decreased 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 increased their price objective on NiSource from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Mizuho cut their target price on NiSource from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on NiSource from $52.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NiSource presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.58.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE NI opened at $45.04 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.53. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $38.42 and a fifty-two week high of $49.21.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.04. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 13.56%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that NiSource will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 37,509 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.40, for a total value of $1,590,381.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 78,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,329,544.80. This represents a 32.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Shawn Anderson sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.58, for a total transaction of $296,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 153,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,000,176.40. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,509 shares of company stock valued at $2,179,152. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NiSource

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in NiSource during the second quarter worth $2,613,234,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the second quarter valued at $574,295,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 4.4% in the second 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 valued at $208,364,000 after buying an additional 183,321 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at $179,838,000. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 154.7% in the 1st quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 3,680,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $171,718,000 after buying an additional 2,235,394 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.