Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Takes $2.28 Million Position in NiSource, Inc $NI

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 52,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,280,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in NiSource by 60.1% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 30,494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 11,452 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake 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 worth $1,592,000 after buying an additional 11,671 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource during the first quarter worth about $105,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in NiSource by 2.0% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 51,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,019,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in NiSource by 4.5% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 14,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE:NI opened at $43.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.52. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.70 billion, a PE ratio of 22.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.65. NiSource, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $35.64 and a fifty-two week high of $44.88.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $983.25 million. NiSource had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 8.09%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.20 EPS. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.07 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 1.870-1.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on NiSource from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.89.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other news, EVP Kimberly S. Cuccia sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $345,040.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.