Comerica Bank Sells 18,129 Shares of Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• Comerica Bank reduced its stake in Spire Inc. by 30.3%, selling 18,129 shares and holding approximately 41,722 shares valued at about $3.27 million.
• Spire recently reported a quarterly EPS of $0.01, exceeding estimates and achieving a year-over-year revenue increase of 1.9%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.785, representing an annualized yield of 4.1%, with a payout ratio of 67.82%.

Comerica Bank lessened its holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 30.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,722 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 18,129 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank owned approximately 0.07% of Spire worth $3,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 2,648.0% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 687 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Spire by 66.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 727 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Spire in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Spire by 103.8% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 803 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Spire by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 914 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Stock Down 0.7%

SR traded down $0.49 during trading on Thursday, reaching $74.41. 105,798 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 450,928. The stock has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.70. Spire Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $79.81. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $75.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.37.

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

Spire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. Spire's payout ratio is 67.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 target price on shares of Spire and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $76.00 target price (down from $81.00) on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Spire from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.