Short Interest in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) Rises By 32.3%

NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 11,367,601 shares, a growth of 32.3% from the February 12th total of 8,591,564 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,108,401 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,108,401 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

NiSource Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE NI opened at $47.48 on Tuesday. NiSource has a 52-week low of $35.64 and a 52-week high of $47.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $22.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $44.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.25.

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

NiSource Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of NiSource

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NI. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in NiSource during the third quarter worth $84,086,000. Magnetar Financial LLC grew its holdings in NiSource by 195.5% during the second quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 182,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,380,000 after purchasing an additional 121,043 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in NiSource by 10.6% during the second quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 340,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,737,000 after buying an additional 32,595 shares during the last quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC increased its position in NiSource by 138.7% during the second quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC now owns 29,720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,199,000 after buying an additional 17,271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in NiSource by 1.3% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,215,924 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $170,070,000 after buying an additional 55,515 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NI. UBS Group upped their price target on NiSource from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Barclays set a $45.00 price target on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.20.

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.