NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Purchased by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI – Get Rating) by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,642 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Achmea Investment Management B.V. acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in NiSource by 183.6% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 808 shares during the period. Clear Street Markets LLC increased its stake in NiSource by 62.1% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 1,378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in NiSource during the 1st quarter worth approximately $62,000. 92.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of NiSource to $31.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 14th. Credit Suisse Group raised shares of NiSource from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of NiSource to $27.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.17.

NiSource Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE NI opened at $27.70 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $27.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.28. The company has a market capitalization of $11.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.46. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.78 and a 12 month high of $32.58.

NiSource (NYSE:NI – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 11.13%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 7th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 6th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.82%.

About NiSource

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NiSource, Inc is a holding company, which engages in energy solutions. Through its subsidiaries, it provides natural gas, electricity, and other products and services. It operates through the following segments: Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations. The Gas Distribution Operations segment focuses on natural gas service and transportation for residential, commercial, and industrial customers.