8,024 Shares in NiSource, Inc $NI Purchased by MBB Public Markets I LLC

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC has invested approximately $322,000 in 8,024 shares of NiSource, marking the establishment of a new position in the utility company.
• NiSource recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, expected to be paid out on November 20th, which represents a 2.8% annualized yield.
• Several hedge funds have increased their positions in NiSource, with 91.64% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors.

MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 8,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NI. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 58,387 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,934 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 8,022 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 1st quarter worth $3,552,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 88.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,535,924 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $221,935,000 after purchasing an additional 2,605,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 1st quarter worth $2,115,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI stock traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.00. The stock had a trading volume of 2,379,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,794,065. The business's fifty day moving average is $41.54 and its 200-day moving average is $40.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $19.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.60. NiSource, Inc has a 1-year low of $33.32 and a 1-year high of $43.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 14.46%.During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.21 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut NiSource from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.88.

About NiSource

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.