NiSource, Inc $NI Stake Reduced by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its stake in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 3.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,318,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 223,090 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $273,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Country Trust Bank acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in NiSource in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in NiSource in the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NI. Wall Street Zen cut NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on NiSource from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. BMO Capital Markets set a $50.00 price target on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on NiSource from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.20.

NiSource Stock Up 0.8%

NI opened at $46.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $22.31 billion, a PE ratio of 23.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $44.73 and its 200-day moving average is $43.17. NiSource, Inc has a one year low of $35.64 and a one year high of $47.67.

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

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

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.