NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) Short Interest Update

NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 8,647,294 shares, a decline of 20.0% from the January 15th total of 10,813,578 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,470,862 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 4,470,862 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI stock opened at $46.34 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $42.83 and its 200 day moving average is $42.62. NiSource has a 1-year low of $35.64 and a 1-year high of $46.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $22.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.77, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.65.

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

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 3rd. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on NI. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group raised 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. Barclays set a $45.00 target price on NiSource in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on NiSource from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kimberly S. Cuccia sold 8,000 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $345,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 41,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,778,983.11. This trade represents a 16.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in NiSource by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,408,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,606,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,630 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,735,119 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,116,459,000 after buying an additional 1,154,351 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 55,625.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 1.4% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 11,734,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $473,381,000 after buying an additional 156,958 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% 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.