Aventail Capital Group LP Lowers Holdings in NiSource, Inc $NI

Aventail Capital Group LP lessened its stake in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 17.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 207,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 44,578 shares during the quarter. Aventail Capital Group LP’s holdings in NiSource were worth $8,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of NI. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its position in shares of NiSource by 113.8% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.68, for a total transaction of $715,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.43, for a total transaction of $118,575.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 116,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,503,587.48. The trade was a 2.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 27,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,305,675 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NI. Weiss Ratings lowered NiSource from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. KeyCorp started coverage on NiSource in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on NiSource from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.33.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $46.69 on Thursday. NiSource, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $38.45 and a fifty-two week high of $48.98. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $22.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.54.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.06 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 firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. On average, analysts expect that NiSource, Inc will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.70%.

NiSource 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.