Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in NiSource, Inc $NI

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 24,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NI. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 891,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,228,000 after purchasing an additional 262,483 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the third quarter worth $1,154,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter worth $336,852,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in NiSource by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 5,424,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $226,537,000 after buying an additional 415,089 shares during the period. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP acquired a new position in NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at $4,176,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on NiSource in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore set a $52.00 target price on NiSource in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on NiSource in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.19, for a total value of $471,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 117,899 shares in the company, valued at $5,563,653.81. This trade represents a 7.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,716,003.20. The trade was a 29.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 27,500 shares of company stock worth $1,305,675 over the last ninety days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NiSource Price Performance

NI stock opened at $47.70 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.87 billion, a PE ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $47.23 and its 200-day moving average is $45.76. 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, Inc has a 1 year low of $38.45 and a 1 year high of $49.21.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.36 billion for 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that NiSource, Inc will post 2.05 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 issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. NiSource’s 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.