Ascent Group LLC Reduces Position in NiSource, Inc $NI

Ascent Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 33.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 19,287 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of NiSource by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,580,768 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,107,647,000 after purchasing an additional 854,767 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 16,836,630 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of NiSource by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,495,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $367,852,000 after purchasing an additional 183,203 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of NiSource by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,136,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $352,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,591 shares during the period. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of NiSource by 34.6% during the 3rd quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 5,009,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $216,918,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287,745 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on NI shares. BMO Capital Markets set a $50.00 price target on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a report on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.64.

NiSource Stock Performance

NiSource stock opened at $47.14 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $45.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.84. NiSource, Inc has a twelve month low of $35.64 and a twelve month high of $47.96. 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 cap of $22.59 billion, a PE ratio of 24.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.61.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.02. NiSource had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 8.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period 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, equities research analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

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

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.