NiSource (NYSE:NI) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $39.99 and last traded at $39.94, with a volume of 565617 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.13.

NiSource Stock Up 0.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $18.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted 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 previous year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from NiSource's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ING Groep NV bought a new position in NiSource during the third quarter valued at approximately $748,000. Thomasville National Bank raised its stake in NiSource by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 567,196 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $20,850,000 after buying an additional 16,364 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 88.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $516,373,000 after buying an additional 6,991,608 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,712,724 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $99,720,000 after buying an additional 483,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the third quarter worth $3,068,000. 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.