Sei Investments Co. Acquires 15,854 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 220,327 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,854 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.38% of Spire worth $14,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Spire during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Spire by 87.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Spire in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Spire by 1,318.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Spire during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Spire Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of SR stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $78.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 268,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 379,143. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $74.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.85. Spire Inc. has a one year low of $57.27 and a one year high of $79.22.

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

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire's payout ratio is currently 76.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SR. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Spire from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Spire from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $75.64.

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.