NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $49.64.

A number of equities analysts have commented on NI shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on NiSource from $51.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on NiSource from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on NiSource from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut NiSource from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their price target on NiSource from $51.50 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 17th.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other news, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 37,509 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.40, for a total value of $1,590,381.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 78,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,329,544.80. The trade was a 32.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,613,234,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 262,483 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $336,852,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its position in NiSource by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 5,424,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $226,537,000 after purchasing an additional 415,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc increased its position in NiSource by 320.7% during the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 65,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,750,000 after purchasing an additional 50,200 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NI opened at $39.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $18.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $42.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.39. NiSource has a one year low of $38.94 and a one year high of $49.21.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16. NiSource had a net margin of 13.20% and a return on equity of 7.95%. The company had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that NiSource will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.83%.

About NiSource

NiSource Inc (NYSE: NI) is a regulated utility company that provides natural gas and electric services to residential, commercial and industrial customers in the United States. Its operations are primarily focused on the distribution, transmission and storage of natural gas, along with electric generation and distribution in Indiana.

Through its Columbia Gas utilities, NiSource serves natural gas customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts and Kentucky. Its Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) subsidiary provides natural gas and electric service in northern Indiana.