NiSource (NYSE:NI) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NiSource (NYSE:NI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets set a $50.00 price target on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Barclays set a $45.00 price objective on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.64.

NiSource Stock Down 0.7%

NI opened at $47.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. NiSource has a 1-year low of $35.64 and a 1-year high of $47.96. The company has a market capitalization of $22.59 billion, a PE ratio of 24.17, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.84.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.02. NiSource had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 8.07%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that NiSource will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is 61.54%.

Institutional Trading of NiSource

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its stake in NiSource by 113.8% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA purchased a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.