Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in NiSource, Inc $NI

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,118,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 199,695 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $255,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in NiSource by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,408,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,606,180,000 after buying an additional 1,032,630 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in NiSource by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,580,768 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,107,647,000 after buying an additional 854,767 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $680,411,000 after buying an additional 16,836,630 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in NiSource by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,459,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $518,301,000 after buying an additional 245,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in NiSource by 2.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,495,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,852,000 after buying an additional 183,203 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE NI opened at $46.32 on Wednesday. NiSource, Inc has a 12-month low of $38.45 and a 12-month high of $48.98. The company has a market capitalization of $22.21 billion, a PE ratio of 23.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $47.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.15.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. NiSource’s payout ratio is currently 59.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on NI shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Evercore set a $52.00 price objective on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of NiSource from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.68, for a total value 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. The trade was a 29.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.19, for a total transaction of $471,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 117,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,563,653.81. This represents a 7.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 27,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,305,675. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.