Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in NiSource, Inc $NI

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 457,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $21,752,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NI. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT boosted its position in NiSource by 113.8% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on NI. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of NiSource from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on NiSource from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $51.50 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.82.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $41.69 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $45.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.29. NiSource, Inc has a 52 week low of $38.45 and a 52 week high of $49.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.55.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16. NiSource had a net margin of 13.20% and a return on equity of 7.95%. The firm had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. Research analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. NiSource’s payout ratio is presently 63.83%.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other news, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 37,509 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.40, for a total value of $1,590,381.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 78,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,329,544.80. This represents a 32.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.