NI vs OGS: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 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.

Reading it: OGS is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

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 OGS 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 OGS 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.

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.

Full NI guide

ONE Gas runs three regulated natural gas distribution utilities and nothing else: Oklahoma Natural Gas, Kansas Gas Service and Texas Gas Service, together serving roughly 2.3 million customers, about 92% of them residential. The company does not drill for gas, does not own long-haul pipelines, and does not sell electricity. It buys gas, delivers it, and passes the commodity cost through to customers at no markup. Earnings come instead from an allowed return on capital sunk into pipe, meters and regulators, an average rate base of about $6.4 billion in 2026. Terms are set state by state: allowed returns on equity near 9.4% in Oklahoma, 9.5% in Kansas and 9.8% in Texas, on equity layers around 60%. Roughly 70% of margin arrives as fixed customer charges, so a mild winter bruises results less than it once did.

Full OGS guide

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.
• OGS drivers: Rate base growth, funded by a defined capital plan; Rate cases and the trackers that shorten regulatory lag.

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 OGS, regulatory outcomes are the central risk: a commission can disallow spending, set a lower allowed return, or simply take long enough that the company under-earns on capital already deployed.

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; OGS 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 OGS guides.

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.

OGS. A sales multiple is close to meaningless here, since the commodity component of revenue is billed at cost and simply flows back out. Regulated gas distributors are compared on price to earnings against rate base growth and allowed ROE, and OGS at roughly 17 times trailing earnings sits in the normal band for the group. Total debt of about $3.4 billion against A3 and A- credit ratings, with adjusted cash flow to debt guided at 19% to 20%, is the other half of the valuation conversation.

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); OGS shows revenue (ttm) ~$2.31B, heavily pass-through gas cost, net income / eps (ttm) ~$288M, ~$4.66 per diluted share, q2 2026 (reported august) adjusted net income ~$52.1M, ~$0.82 per share, GAAP ~$0.74, 2026 adjusted eps guidance ~$4.83 to ~$4.95, raised to the upper half.

NI and OGS 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 OGS exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.