NI vs NJR: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
NI is the larger of the two ($20.32B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (18.80x forward earnings, beta 0.55). NJR is the smaller challenger ($5.84B), priced similarly on forward earnings (16.81x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.
NI vs NJR: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | NI | NJR | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $20.32B | $5.84B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 18.80 | 16.81 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Trailing P/E | 22.54 | 17.18 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | 0.55 | 0.52 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 36% of range | 83% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 2.10 | 2.20 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Before you buy: how NI and NJR affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. NI and NJR share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined NI and NJR exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does NiSource (NI) do?
NiSource operates two reportable segments. Columbia Operations is the natural gas distribution business, made up of the Columbia Gas utilities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky and Maryland. NIPSCO Operations covers northern Indiana, where the company runs both a gas utility and a vertically integrated electric utility that has been retiring coal generation and replacing it with wind, solar, batteries and, most recently, new combined cycle gas capacity. Roughly 7,700 employees serve about 3.3 million natural gas customers and about 500,000 electric customers. Revenue was approximately $6.9 billion on a trailing twelve month basis through the June 2026 quarter, and essentially all of it comes from rates set by state commissions rather than from competitive markets.
What does New Jersey Resources (NJR) do?
New Jersey Resources is a diversified energy infrastructure company headquartered in Wall, New Jersey. Its core is New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG), a regulated utility that distributes gas to roughly 5.6 million people across Monmouth, Ocean, Morris, Middlesex, Sussex and Burlington counties. Around it sit three non-utility segments: Clean Energy Ventures (solar generation), Energy Services (a wholesale natural gas trading and asset-optimization business active across North America), and Storage and Transportation (the Adelphia Gateway pipeline, the Leaf River salt-dome storage facility, and a 50% stake in Steckman Ridge). Company guidance points to the regulated utility contributing roughly 62 to 67 percent of net financial earnings, with the remainder split among Energy Services, Clean Energy Ventures and Storage and Transportation.
NI vs NJR: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- NI drivers: A capital plan sized to the opportunity; Indiana data center load, contracted and approved.
- NJR drivers: Regulated utility rate-base growth; Energy Services trading upside.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Financing is the central risk. For NJR, as a regulated utility, NJR depends on favorable rate-case outcomes from New Jersey regulators, and unfavorable rulings can compress returns on its heavy capital spending.
NI or NJR: which should you pick?
Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick NI if you believe its drivers more; NJR if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the NI and NJR guides.
NI vs NJR: the full fundamentals
NI. At roughly 22.6x trailing GAAP earnings and about 21x the midpoint of 2026 adjusted guidance, NiSource trades at a premium to the typical regulated gas utility, which is the market pricing in the data center growth rather than the current earnings stream. Quarterly numbers are seasonal and can look alarming out of context: second quarter 2026 GAAP EPS was $0.09 against $0.22 a year earlier, while first half adjusted EPS still rose to $1.22 from $1.19. The GenCo structure also matters for anyone comparing per share figures, because Blackstone's minority interest sits in noncontrolling interest and absorbs part of the generation economics.
NJR. NJR trades at a mid-teens multiple of earnings, roughly in line with regulated gas utility peers, reflecting a stable regulated core plus a variable trading component. Management has raised fiscal 2026 net financial earnings guidance twice, largely on strong Energy Services results, so the quality and repeatability of a given year's earnings depends on how much came from the regulated utility versus commodity trading. The roughly 3.3 percent dividend yield and steady dividend growth are central to the total-return story.
Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): NI shows revenue (ttm) ~$6.9 billion through the June 2026 quarter, market capitalization ~$20.3 billion (~$42 per share on ~480 million shares), diluted eps (ttm, gaap) ~$1.88, a trailing P/E of roughly 22.6x, 2026 adjusted eps guidance $2.02 to $2.07, reaffirmed August 5, 2026 (~21x at recent prices); NJR shows revenue (ttm) ~$2.1B, net income (fy2025) ~$336M, eps (ttm) ~$3.35, market cap ~$4.7B.
The bottom line: NI vs NJR
NI and NJR are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined NI and NJR exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how NI or NJR fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in NiSource with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how NI fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between NI and NJR?
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NiSource operates two reportable segments. New Jersey Resources is a diversified energy infrastructure company headquartered in Wall, New Jersey. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is NI or NJR the better stock?
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Neither is universally better. NI is the larger incumbent; NJR is the smaller challenger and looks cheaper on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, NI or NJR?
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On forward P/E (as of August 2026), NI trades at 18.80x and NJR at 16.81x, so NJR is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both NI and NJR?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of NI vs NJR?
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NI: Financing is the central risk. Funding a $28.6 billion program while already carrying roughly $17.4 billion of debt means continued bond issuance at 2026 coupons (the May 2026 notes priced at 4.75% and 5.30%) plus equity issued through an at-the-market program, and share count has already drifted from about 470.7 million in April 2025 to about 479.6 million in July 2026, so per share growth can lag rate base growth. Regulatory risk is constant: allowed returns can be trimmed, cost recovery can be delayed, and the pending Indiana and FERC approvals tied to the Amazon and Alphabet arrangements are not decided until the fourth quarter of 2026. Customer concentration is a newer exposure, since a meaningful slice of future earnings depends on a small number of hyperscaler counterparties and on data center demand in northern Indiana holding up over contract lives measured in decades. Operationally, the R.M. Schahfer coal facility was scheduled to retire at the end of December 2025 but has been kept running under successive federal emergency orders, currently through September 19, 2026, which illustrates how reliability obligations and transition plans can collide. Gas distribution earnings also swing with weather, and pipeline safety obligations under PHMSA carry both cost and, as the industry's history shows, tail risk. NJR: As a regulated utility, NJR depends on favorable rate-case outcomes from New Jersey regulators, and unfavorable rulings can compress returns on its heavy capital spending. Rising interest rates raise financing costs for a capital-intensive balance sheet and can make utility dividend yields less attractive relative to bonds. The Energy Services segment introduces earnings volatility tied to natural gas price swings, so strong years may not repeat and weak commodity environments can pressure results. Weather remains a swing factor for both utility demand and trading margins, as fiscal 2026 illustrated. Longer term, the energy transition and decarbonization policy could weigh on natural gas demand and asset values, and large ongoing capital needs may require continued debt and equity issuance.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell NI or NJR; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.