Prudential PLC Sells 49,177 Shares of NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• Prudential PLC sharply reduced its NiSource position in the fourth quarter, selling 49,177 shares and cutting its stake by 79.3% to 12,863 shares valued at about $537,000.
• Despite that sale, NiSource still has strong institutional backing, with 91.64% of shares owned by institutions; large holders like Vanguard and State Street also increased their stakes.
• NiSource reported quarterly EPS of $1.06, matching estimates, and it also announced a $0.30 quarterly dividend payable Aug. 20, implying a 2.6% annual yield.

Prudential PLC cut its stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 79.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,863 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 49,177 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in NiSource were worth $537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,408,533 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,606,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,630 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in NiSource by 3.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 854,767 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in NiSource by 55,625.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 16,836,630 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in NiSource by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,459,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $518,301,000 after buying an additional 245,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 183,203 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on NiSource from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings lowered NiSource from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on NiSource in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set 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, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.33.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE:NI opened at $45.85 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $47.23 and a 200 day moving average of $45.13. The company has a market capitalization of $21.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.55. 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.

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

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $0.30 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 59.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 15,000 shares of the business'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 value of $715,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,990 shares in the company, valued at $1,716,003.20. The trade was a 29.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.43, for a total value 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. The trade was a 2.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 27,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,305,675 in the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NiSource 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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