VELA Investment Management LLC Acquires New Shares in NiSource, Inc $NI

VELA Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 23,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $992,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NI. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 60.1% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 30,494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 11,452 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 41.6% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 39,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after purchasing an additional 11,671 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the first quarter valued at about $105,000. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 49,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,986,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the second quarter valued at about $1,054,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Price Performance

NiSource stock opened at $48.14 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $47.05 and its 200 day moving average is $44.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $23.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.57. NiSource, Inc has a one year low of $37.22 and a one year high of $48.98.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.07% and a net margin of 13.99%.During the same period in the previous 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, research analysts expect that NiSource, Inc will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, April 20th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on NiSource in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered NiSource from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on NiSource from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.80.

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.