Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Buys 4,313 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 133.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,551 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,313 shares during the quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP's holdings in Spire were worth $512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Spire by 87.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 431.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 627 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on SR shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Mizuho upped their target price on Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com raised Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Spire from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.40.

Spire Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of Spire stock traded down $2.47 during trading on Monday, reaching $72.19. 334,433 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 389,705. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.65. Spire Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.77 and a 1-year high of $79.81. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $76.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.70 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio is currently 77.34%.

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.