NiSource (NYSE:NI) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $47.70 and last traded at $47.4140, with a volume of 728139 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $46.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets set a $50.00 price objective on NiSource in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.20.

NiSource Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $44.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

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

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 7,871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in NiSource by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 82,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,435,000 after purchasing an additional 11,485 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in NiSource by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 742,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,027,000 after buying an additional 53,167 shares during the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $178,000. Finally, SG Trading Solutions LLC bought a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth about $484,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by 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.