NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $50.3333.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NI. Wall Street Zen cut shares of NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Evercore set a $52.00 target price on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other news, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.43, for a total value of $118,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 116,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,503,587.48. This trade represents a 2.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.68, for a total transaction of $715,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,716,003.20. This represents a 29.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 27,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,305,675 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NI. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at about $84,086,000. Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in NiSource by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 369,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,985,000 after acquiring an additional 25,721 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,154,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in NiSource by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 891,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,228,000 after acquiring an additional 262,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in NiSource by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,136,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $352,296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065,591 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $46.62 on Thursday. NiSource has a 52 week low of $38.45 and a 52 week high of $48.98. The company’s 50 day moving average is $47.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $22.35 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.54.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06. NiSource had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. Equities analysts predict that NiSource will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.70%.

NiSource Company Profile

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.