NiSource (NYSE:NI) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Sell”

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NiSource (NYSE:NI) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on NI. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore set a $52.00 price objective on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NiSource has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.33.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI opened at $46.32 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company has a market capitalization of $22.21 billion, a PE ratio of 23.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.57. NiSource has a 52-week low of $38.13 and a 52-week high of $48.98.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 8.31%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that NiSource will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NiSource

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NI. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 55,625.2% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 16,866,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $680,411,000 after purchasing an additional 16,836,630 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 51,504,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,150,818,000 after purchasing an additional 8,240,227 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth about $336,852,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 2,288.8% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,166,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $137,101,000 after purchasing an additional 3,033,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth about $100,965,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.