Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Takes $318,000 Position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,062 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $318,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Spire by 66.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 727 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Spire by 103.8% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 803 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter worth $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:SR traded up $1.16 during trading on Monday, reaching $75.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 633,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 410,409. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.62. Spire Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $79.81. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $73.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.78.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 8.49% and a net margin of 10.22%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.45 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th were paid a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 11th. Spire's payout ratio is currently 77.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on SR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Spire from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Spire in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Mizuho increased their price target on Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Spire from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.40.

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.