JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 183,203 Shares of NiSource, Inc $NI

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,495,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 183,203 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 1.78% of NiSource worth $367,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 2,668.0% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Country Trust Bank acquired a new stake in NiSource in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 116.7% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NiSource news, EVP Kimberly S. Cuccia sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $345,040.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 41,247 shares in the company, valued at $1,778,983.11. This trade represents a 16.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NI shares. Wall Street Zen cut NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Citigroup upped their target price on NiSource from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $50.00 price objective on shares of NiSource in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.20.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI stock opened at $45.32 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. NiSource, Inc has a twelve month low of $35.64 and a twelve month high of $47.05. The company has a market cap of $21.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.70.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 8.07% and a net margin of 13.99%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. NiSource’s payout ratio is currently 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.