NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $49.8182.

NI has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of NiSource from $51.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Evercore set a $52.00 price target on NiSource in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other news, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 37,509 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 78,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,329,544.80. This represents a 32.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NiSource

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NI. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the second quarter worth $2,613,234,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in NiSource by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 891,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,228,000 after buying an additional 262,483 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter worth about $336,852,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its position in NiSource by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 5,424,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $226,537,000 after buying an additional 415,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $4,176,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NI opened at $40.82 on Tuesday. NiSource has a fifty-two week low of $38.45 and a fifty-two week high of $49.21. The business has a 50-day moving average of $45.33 and a 200 day moving average of $46.25. The firm has a market cap of $19.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.50.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 13.20% and a return on equity of 7.95%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that NiSource will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. NiSource’s payout ratio is presently 63.83%.

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.