SG Americas Securities LLC Has $2.54 Million Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 294.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,231 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 47,202 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in NiSource were worth $2,535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 64.2% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 44.7% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. raised its stake in NiSource by 105.0% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NI shares. UBS Group increased their price target on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.50.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In related news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $245,468.34. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.22, for a total value of $152,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $944,760.18. This trade represents a 13.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Up 0.9%

NI stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $39.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 329,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,121,364. The company's fifty day moving average price is $39.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.83 and a twelve month high of $41.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.60, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.54.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.54%.

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.