MBB Public Markets I LLC Purchases Shares of 28,500 NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 28,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $821,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Thomasville National Bank grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 53,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 14,291 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 9,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Finally, Tobam increased its position in NiSource by 22.2% during the 1st quarter. Tobam now owns 2,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NI shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.43.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE:NI opened at $34.83 on Wednesday. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.86 and a 1-year high of $35.10. The stock has a market cap of $15.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.88.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.06. NiSource had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 14.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.28%.

NiSource Profile

NiSource Inc, an energy holding company, operates as a regulated natural gas and electric utility company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations. The company distributes natural gas to approximately 3.3 million customers through approximately 55,000 miles of distribution main pipeline and the associated individual customer service lines; and 1,000 miles of transmission main pipeline in northern Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland.