Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Holdings Raised by Brandes Investment Partners LP

Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,316 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 10,659 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned 0.15% of Spire worth $5,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Spire during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Spire by 87.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Spire by 1,318.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Spire during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Stock Up 0.6 %

SR stock traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $77.37. 877,053 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 343,767. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.27 and a 12-month high of $78.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $72.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53.

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Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 9.70%. On average, analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. Spire's dividend payout ratio is presently 76.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on SR shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 started coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America started coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.00.

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.