NiSource (NYSE:NI) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $48.14 and last traded at $48.0950, with a volume of 3240162 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $47.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on NiSource from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on NiSource from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on NiSource in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.64.

NiSource Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $23.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during 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 in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 113.8% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 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.