Strs Ohio Raises Position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Strs Ohio raised its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Spire were worth $180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SR. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Spire by 81.9% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Spire by 206.6% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279 shares during the last quarter. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Spire during the third quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Spire during the third quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, Plancorp LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Spire during the third quarter valued at approximately $227,000. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on SR. Mizuho decreased their price target on Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, April 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $57.50 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.72.

Insider Transactions at Spire

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

Spire Price Performance

Spire stock opened at $61.79 on Wednesday. Spire Inc. has a one year low of $53.77 and a one year high of $69.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $60.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.51.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.10. Spire had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 8.11%. The firm had revenue of $756.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.88 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be issued a $0.755 dividend. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 11th. Spire’s payout ratio is currently 81.40%.

Spire Profile

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.