NiSource, Inc $NI Shares Purchased by Vestcor Inc

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc boosted its NiSource stake by 320.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 65,854 shares valued at about $2.75 million. Other hedge funds also added to positions, and institutional investors now own 91.64% of the stock.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive: NiSource has a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $50.33. Recent analyst actions included higher price targets from Barclays, BMO Capital Markets, and KeyCorp.
• NiSource reported quarterly EPS of $1.06, matching estimates, while revenue came in below expectations at $2.36 billion. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, or $1.20 annually, for a yield of 2.6%.

Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 320.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 65,854 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 50,200 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in NiSource were worth $2,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in NiSource by 60.1% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 30,494 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,223,000 after buying an additional 11,452 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in NiSource by 41.6% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 39,703 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,592,000 after buying an additional 11,671 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in NiSource in the first quarter worth approximately $105,000. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in NiSource by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 49,220 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,986,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. acquired a new position in NiSource in the second quarter worth approximately $1,054,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, April 20th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of NiSource from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NiSource news, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 2,500 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.43, for a total transaction of $118,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 116,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,503,587.48. This trade represents a 2.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 15,000 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,716,003.20. This trade represents a 29.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 27,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,305,675 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

NiSource Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE NI opened at $46.60 on Friday. NiSource, Inc has a twelve month low of $38.45 and a twelve month high of $48.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $22.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.54. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $47.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.09.

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

NiSource Announces Dividend

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