Royal Bank of Canada Sells 223,596 Shares of NiSource, Inc $NI

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 7.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,776,375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 223,596 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in NiSource were worth $129,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NI. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its stake in NiSource by 113.8% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other news, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,503,587.48. This trade represents a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 15,000 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.68, for a total value of $715,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,716,003.20. This represents a 29.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 27,500 shares of company stock worth $1,305,675 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on NI. Citigroup upped their target price on NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on NiSource from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Evercore set a $52.00 price target on NiSource in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on NiSource from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on NiSource from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NiSource has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.30.

NiSource Stock Up 0.6%

NiSource stock opened at $45.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $46.76 and its 200-day moving average is $46.40. NiSource, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $38.45 and a fifty-two week high of $49.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.70%.

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.