Short Interest in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) Drops By 20.0%

NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 8,647,294 shares, a decline of 20.0% from the January 15th total of 10,813,578 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 4,470,862 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Based on an average daily volume of 4,470,862 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $46.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.65. NiSource has a twelve month low of $35.64 and a twelve month high of $46.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $42.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.62.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.07% and a net margin of 13.99%.During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that NiSource will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be issued 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 boost from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. NiSource’s payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on NiSource from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore raised their target price on NiSource from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other news, EVP Kimberly S. Cuccia sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $345,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NiSource

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of NiSource by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,408,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,606,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,630 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in NiSource by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,735,119 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,116,459,000 after buying an additional 1,154,351 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 55,625.2% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 16,866,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $680,411,000 after acquiring an additional 16,836,630 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,459,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $518,301,000 after acquiring an additional 245,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.4% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 11,734,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $473,381,000 after acquiring an additional 156,958 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% 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.