JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 48.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 428,701 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 138,971 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.73% of Spire worth $29,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,277,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Spire by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 778,442 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $52,802,000 after buying an additional 106,386 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 731,682 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $49,630,000 after acquiring an additional 85,476 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Spire by 5.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings 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. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Spire Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:SR traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $74.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 370,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 388,402. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.50. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $75.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.56. Spire Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.27 and a fifty-two week high of $79.81.
Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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, research analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.
Spire Cuts Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.03%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
SR has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America began coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Spire from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Spire from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Eight 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $75.64.
View Our Latest Research Report on SR
Spire Profile
(
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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