Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,168,221 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 46,434 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.57% of Spire worth $418,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Spire by 87.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 431.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 627 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Stock Performance

SR traded down $2.22 on Monday, reaching $73.57. The company had a trading volume of 715,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 383,892. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $75.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.56. Spire Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.27 and a 1 year high of $79.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 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 forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Spire from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Spire from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Eight 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $75.64.

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.