Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 99,929 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 81.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 99,929 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Spire were worth $1,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Spire in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in Spire by 431.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 627 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Spire in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Spire by 66.0% in the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter worth $68,000. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of Spire stock traded up $0.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $72.82. 818,157 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 403,439. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.34. Spire Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.27 and a 1 year high of $79.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.13.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.70 by ($0.10). Spire had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 8.49%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.45 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio is 77.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho increased their target price 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 target price on Spire from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Spire in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Spire from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Spire from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, 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.