Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $923,000 Investment in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 14,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $923,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SR. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Spire by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,968,088 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $394,254,000 after buying an additional 52,893 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,583,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $315,936,000 after purchasing an additional 36,022 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 126.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,501,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951,969 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 788,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,624,000 after purchasing an additional 161,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 772,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,127,000 after purchasing an additional 80,405 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spire Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE SR opened at $61.75 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.96. The stock has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.51. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.77 and a 12-month high of $69.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $756.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $688.88 million. Spire had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on SR. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total value of $73,223.82. Following the sale, the treasurer now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $92,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total value of $75,220.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,768 shares in the company, valued at $393,423.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total transaction of $73,223.82. Following the sale, the treasurer now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

About Spire

Spire Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the purchase, retail distribution, and sale of natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and other end-users of natural gas in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Gas Utility, Gas Marketing, and Midstream. It is also involved in the marketing of natural gas and related services; and transportation and storage of natural gas.