NiSource (NYSE:NI) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $47.67 and last traded at $47.59, with a volume of 4458819 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on NI. BMO Capital Markets set a $50.00 price target on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on NiSource from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.20.

NiSource Stock Down 1.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $22.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.85, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50 day moving average is $44.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.05.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.51 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were given a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 3rd. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 55,625.2% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 16,866,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $680,411,000 after acquiring an additional 16,836,630 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in NiSource by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 51,504,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,150,818,000 after purchasing an additional 8,240,227 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $336,852,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in NiSource by 2,288.8% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,166,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $137,101,000 after purchasing an additional 3,033,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $100,965,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

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.