Comerica Bank Raises Holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Comerica Bank boosted its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 33.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,851 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 14,980 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned 0.10% of Spire worth $4,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position 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 stake in Spire in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in Spire by 431.4% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of Spire stock traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $74.61. The stock had a trading volume of 336,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,405. Spire Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.77 and a twelve month high of $79.81. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.65. The stock's 50 day moving average is $76.45 and its 200 day moving average is $71.86.

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

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 11th. Spire's payout ratio is presently 77.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Spire from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Spire from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Spire from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.40.

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.