Franklin Resources Inc. Lowers Holdings in NiSource, Inc $NI

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its holdings in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,118,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 199,695 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.28% of NiSource worth $255,511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NI. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 16,836,630 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $336,852,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 3,033,764 shares during the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $100,965,000. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $84,086,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on NI shares. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Evercore set a $52.00 price objective on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.33.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In other news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.68, for a total transaction of $715,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,990 shares in the company, valued at $1,716,003.20. The trade was a 29.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.19, for a total transaction of $471,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 117,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,563,653.81. This trade represents a 7.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,500 shares of company stock worth $1,305,675. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $46.32 on Wednesday. NiSource, Inc has a 52-week low of $38.45 and a 52-week high of $48.98. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.15. The firm has a market cap of $22.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.54.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06. NiSource had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

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

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.