IFP Advisors Inc Buys 27,754 Shares of NiSource, Inc $NI

IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 770.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 31,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,754 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,408,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,606,180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032,630 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,580,768 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,107,647,000 after acquiring an additional 854,767 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 55,625.2% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 16,866,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $680,411,000 after acquiring an additional 16,836,630 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 2.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,495,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $367,852,000 after acquiring an additional 183,203 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 15.1% during the third 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 during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI stock opened at $47.90 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $47.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $22.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.83, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.57. NiSource, Inc has a 12 month low of $38.36 and a 12 month high of $48.98.

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

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NI shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on NiSource from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on NiSource from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Evercore set a $52.00 price objective on NiSource in a report on Monday, May 11th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on NiSource in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered NiSource from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 2,500 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was 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 directly owned 116,036 shares in the company, valued at $5,503,587.48. This trade represents a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.