Swiss National Bank Raises Stock Position in NiSource, Inc $NI

Swiss National Bank grew its stake in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 8.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,400,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 110,200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in NiSource were worth $65,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NI. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in NiSource by 60.1% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 30,494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after acquiring an additional 11,452 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position 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 worth $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 worth about $105,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 0.5% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,054,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $45.32 on Wednesday. NiSource, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $38.45 and a fifty-two week high of $49.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.19. The company has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.55.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.06. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 8.31%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other NiSource news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,716,003.20. This represents a 29.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were 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 approximately $5,503,587.48. This trade represents a 2.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 27,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,305,675 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NI shares. Evercore set a $52.00 price target on NiSource in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on NiSource from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.50.

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.