UBS Group AG Buys 1,207,987 Shares of NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• UBS Group AG raised its NiSource stake by 32.9% in Q4, buying 1,207,987 shares to own 4,875,267 shares (about 1.02% of the company) valued at roughly $203.6 million.
• Analyst sentiment is positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target of $48.80, backed by recent upgrades/overweight calls from Barclays ($49), KeyCorp ($52) and Wells Fargo ($51).
• NiSource beat Q results (earnings $0.51 vs. $0.49 expected), set FY2026 EPS guidance of 2.020–2.070, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 (annualized yield ~2.5%, ex-dividend April 30).

UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 32.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,875,267 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,207,987 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned 1.02% of NiSource worth $203,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NI. Tower Bridge Advisors boosted its holdings in NiSource by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 21,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 1.6% during the third quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 14,951 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $647,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 8,769 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 1.7% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,319 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $626,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 1.1% during the third quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 23,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,020,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded NiSource from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Barclays increased 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. KeyCorp initiated coverage on NiSource in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded NiSource from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of NiSource in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.80.

NiSource Trading Down 0.5%

NiSource stock opened at $48.25 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $23.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.74, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.61. NiSource, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $37.22 and a fifty-two week high of $48.83. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $47.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.69.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 8.07%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. 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 presently 61.54%.

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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