NiSource (NYSE:NI) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $47.67 and last traded at $47.59, with a volume of 4458819 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $46.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NI shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen cut NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on NiSource from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on NiSource from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.20.

NiSource Stock Up 1.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $22.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $44.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.07% and a net margin of 13.99%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. Research analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. NiSource’s payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NiSource

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 113.8% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA bought a new stake in NiSource during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in NiSource by 2,668.0% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the period. Finally, Country Trust Bank acquired a new stake in NiSource during the second quarter worth about $28,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About NiSource

NiSource, Inc (NYSE: NI) is a publicly traded energy holding company headquartered in Merrillville, Indiana, that primarily owns and operates regulated local gas and electric utilities in the United States. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company delivers natural gas and electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers and provides the associated distribution and transmission services that keep local energy systems functioning.

The company’s core activities include natural gas distribution, electric transmission and distribution, system operations, maintenance and emergency response.