Captrust Financial Advisors Buys 20,224 Shares of Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Spire Inc. by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 20,224 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 1,240,395 shares worth about $102.6 million.
• Several other institutional investors also increased positions in Spire, and 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutions and hedge funds, highlighting strong institutional interest.
• Spire recently reported earnings of $3.76 per share, topping estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share for a 4.2% annualized yield.

Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,240,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 20,224 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors owned about 2.10% of Spire worth $102,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP raised its stake in Spire by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 293,233 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $24,250,000 after buying an additional 92,841 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Spire during the fourth quarter worth about $421,000. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in Spire by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 27,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,274,000 after acquiring an additional 3,814 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,612 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $85.81 per share, with a total value of $171,620.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $600,670. This trade represents a 40.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total value of $307,709.22. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,150,890.45. This represents a 21.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $251,100. Corporate insiders own 2.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen started coverage on Spire in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a "hold" rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Spire from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $96.00 target price on shares of Spire in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.22.

Spire Stock Down 0.5%

Spire stock opened at $78.35 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Spire Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.24 and a 1-year high of $95.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.79. The company has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.52.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. Spire had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.60 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Spire's dividend payout ratio is 58.00%.

About Spire

Spire Inc NYSE: SR, formerly known as The Laclede Group, is a regulated natural gas distribution company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Through its three operating divisions—Spire Missouri, Spire Alabama and Spire Mississippi—the company delivers natural gas to more than 1.7 million residential, commercial and industrial customers. Spire's service territory spans key markets in the central and southern United States, including metropolitan St. Louis, central Alabama and central Mississippi.

Founded in 1857 as the Laclede Gas Light Company, the business has grown through strategic acquisitions, notably Alabama Gas Corporation in 2013 and Mississippi Gas in 2016.

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