Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Takes Position in NiSource, Inc $NI

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 18,277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $869,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 60.1% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 30,494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 11,452 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 41.6% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 39,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after buying an additional 11,671 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in NiSource during the first quarter valued at about $105,000. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in NiSource by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 49,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,986,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. acquired a new position in NiSource during the second quarter worth about $1,054,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of NiSource from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 37,509 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was 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 owned 78,527 shares in the company, valued at $3,329,544.80. This represents a 32.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NiSource Stock Performance

NiSource stock opened at $40.71 on Wednesday. NiSource, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $38.45 and a fifty-two week high of $49.21. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.55.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.16. NiSource had a net margin of 13.20% and a return on equity of 7.95%. The business had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

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

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.