NiSource (NYSE:NI) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $47.24 and last traded at $47.2270, with a volume of 816768 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $46.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NI shares. Evercore boosted their price target on NiSource from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $50.00 target price on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.20.

NiSource Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.85. The company has a market cap of $22.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.69.

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

NiSource Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NI. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in NiSource in the third quarter worth about $84,086,000. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 195.5% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its stake in NiSource by 10.6% during the second quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 340,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,737,000 after purchasing an additional 32,595 shares during the last quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 worth $170,070,000 after buying an additional 55,515 shares during the last quarter. 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.