SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Stock Position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

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

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in NiSource by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,793,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,124,492,000 after buying an additional 2,459,452 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,370,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $785,563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,334 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,448,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $419,765,000 after purchasing an additional 700,747 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in NiSource by 185.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 9,244,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $339,837,000 after purchasing an additional 6,001,486 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in NiSource by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,199,873 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $301,427,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714,262 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:NI traded up $0.11 on Wednesday, hitting $39.39. The company had a trading volume of 2,054,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,132,767. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $39.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. NiSource, Inc has a 1 year low of $27.83 and a 1 year high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NI. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $41.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other NiSource news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $245,468.34. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. This trade represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $233,590.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $701,035.21. This trade represents a 24.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,405 shares of company stock valued at $631,939. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.