Royal Fund Management LLC Buys New Holdings in NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• Royal Fund Management acquired 76,530 NiSource shares in the first quarter, valued at approximately $3.57 million. Institutional investors collectively own 91.64% of the utility company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with nine Buy ratings and three Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $50.30.
• NiSource reported quarterly EPS of $1.06, matching estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, equivalent to a 2.7% yield. Meanwhile, company insiders sold 27,500 shares during the latest quarter.

Royal Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 76,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,571,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted 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 acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NI. Barclays lifted their price objective on NiSource from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of NiSource in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.68, for a total value of $715,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,990 shares in the company, valued at $1,716,003.20. This trade represents a 29.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 10,000 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.19, for a total transaction of $471,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 117,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,563,653.81. This represents a 7.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 27,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,305,675. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE NI opened at $44.82 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $46.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.38. The stock has a market cap of $21.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.65. NiSource, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $38.45 and a fifty-two week high of $49.21.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.06. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 14.15%.The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that NiSource, Inc will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.70%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.