Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 834,647 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 28,715 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.44% of Spire worth $56,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Spire in the third quarter valued at approximately $787,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Spire by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,572 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 175.5% during the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 15,637 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 9,962 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the 3rd quarter valued at about $425,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Spire by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 5,261 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $76.26. The stock had a trading volume of 333,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 340,980. The stock's 50 day moving average is $72.29 and its 200 day moving average is $68.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.46, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. Spire Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.27 and a twelve month high of $78.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

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Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio is presently 76.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SR shares. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho raised Spire from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Spire from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Spire currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.00.

Spire Company 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.