Boston Partners Sells 5,466 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Boston Partners trimmed its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,513 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,466 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned approximately 0.05% of Spire worth $2,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SR. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,308 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Spire by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,406 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Spire by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,337 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its position in Spire by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 4,444 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Spire Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE SR traded up $0.50 on Wednesday, hitting $77.28. 359,826 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 424,071. The company has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $73.70 and a 200 day moving average of $69.36. 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 twelve month low of $57.27 and a twelve month high of $78.83.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 9.70%. As a group, analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Spire from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Spire has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.00.

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.