Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 23,469 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,592,000.
Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Spire during the third quarter worth $39,228,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter worth $8,277,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Spire by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 778,442 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $52,802,000 after acquiring an additional 106,386 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Spire by 5.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $93,244,000 after acquiring an additional 71,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Spire by 127.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 109,372 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,360,000 after acquiring an additional 61,357 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.
Spire Price Performance
SR traded up $0.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $76.39. The stock had a trading volume of 599,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 395,106. The stock has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.50. Spire Inc. has a one year low of $57.27 and a one year high of $78.80. The business has a 50-day moving average of $71.54 and a 200-day moving average of $68.44.
Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Spire Cuts Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. Spire's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.03%.
Insider Transactions at Spire
In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at $174,544.89. This trade represents a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho upgraded Spire from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.00.
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About Spire
(
Free Report)
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.
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