NiSource (NYSE:NI) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $48.83 and last traded at $48.3590, with a volume of 1480437 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NI. KeyCorp began coverage on NiSource in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets set a $50.00 target price on NiSource in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on NiSource from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

NiSource Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $23.04 billion, a PE ratio of 24.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.61.

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

NiSource Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of NiSource

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at about $84,086,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in NiSource by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,136,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $352,296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065,591 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,113,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its position in NiSource by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 3,100,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $134,252,000 after acquiring an additional 539,000 shares during the period. Finally, Drake & Associates LLC acquired a new position in NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,413,000. 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.