CI Investments Inc. Takes Position in Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• CI Investments Inc. opened a new position in Spire Inc. during the first quarter, buying 22,224 shares worth about $2.0 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Spire is broadly positive, with analysts assigning an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $94.50.
• Spire reported better-than-expected EPS of $3.76 in its latest quarter and continues to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, implying a roughly 4.0% yield.

CI Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 22,224 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,012,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Optima Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on SR shares. Mizuho started coverage on Spire in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on Spire in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. BTIG Research set a $101.00 price target on Spire in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They set a "hold" rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $96.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.50.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of SR opened at $83.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $81.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.04. Spire Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.24 and a 1-year high of $95.31. The company has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.52.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Spire had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.60 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 11th. Spire's payout ratio is 58.00%.

Insider Activity at Spire

In other news, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,150,890.45. This trade represents a 21.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 500 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $78.46 per share, with a total value of $39,230.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $627,680. This trade represents a 6.67% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired 3,000 shares of company stock worth $251,100 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.26% of the company's stock.

Spire Company Profile

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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