American Century Companies Inc. Sells 495,304 Shares of Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Spire Inc. by 12.7%, selling 495,304 shares during the first quarter and now holds 5.75% of the company, valued at $265.7 million.
• Spire's recent quarterly earnings report showed $0.01 earnings per share, surpassing estimates, and reflecting a 1.9% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.785 per share, providing a 4.1% yield to investors, with the ex-dividend date set for September 11th.

American Century Companies Inc. decreased its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,395,875 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 495,304 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 5.75% of Spire worth $265,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SR. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Spire during the 4th quarter worth $52,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its stake in Spire by 2,648.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 687 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Spire by 66.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 727 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Spire by 103.8% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 803 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Spire by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 914 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Price Performance

NYSE:SR traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $75.57. The company had a trading volume of 482,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 458,316. Spire Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $79.81. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $74.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.08. The company has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.10. Spire had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 8.66%. The company had revenue of $421.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $417.27 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.14) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Spire has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.400-4.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $76.00 target price (down previously from $81.00) on shares of Spire in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Spire in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 price target on shares of Spire and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.20.

Spire 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.