Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 245,110 Shares of NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its NiSource stake by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, buying 245,110 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 12.46 million shares worth about $518.3 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with 91.64% of NiSource shares held by institutional investors. Several other hedge funds also made large additions, including Orion Portfolio Solutions and Millennium Management.
• Analysts remain generally constructive on NiSource despite a few mixed calls, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.33. The company also reported quarterly EPS in line with estimates and announced a $0.30 quarterly dividend.

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,459,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 245,110 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.61% of NiSource worth $518,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 55,625.2% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 16,866,898 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $680,411,000 after acquiring an additional 16,836,630 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 2,288.8% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,166,313 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $137,101,000 after acquiring an additional 3,033,764 shares during the period. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth about $100,965,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the third quarter worth about $84,086,000. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 52.0% in the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,434,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $178,877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,516,296 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NI shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on NiSource from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on NiSource from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded NiSource from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NiSource news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.68, for a total transaction of $715,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,990 shares in the company, valued at $1,716,003.20. This represents a 29.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.43, for a total value of $118,575.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 116,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,503,587.48. This represents a 2.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,500 shares of company stock worth $1,305,675. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

NiSource Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NI stock opened at $46.21 on Monday. NiSource, Inc has a 1 year low of $38.45 and a 1 year high of $48.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $47.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.02. The company has a market cap of $22.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.55.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 14.15%.The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. Research analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is 59.70%.

NiSource Company Profile

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.

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