Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 14,987 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,170,000.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Spire in the second quarter valued at approximately $667,642,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in Spire by 158.1% during the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,000,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,990,000 after buying an additional 612,500 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Spire during the second quarter worth approximately $45,993,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Spire during the 4th quarter worth $46,226,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Spire during the 2nd quarter worth $25,049,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company's stock.
Insider Transactions at Spire
In other Spire news, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total transaction of $307,709.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,150,890.45. The trade was a 21.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $78.46 per share, with a total value of $39,230.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 8,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $627,680. This represents a 6.67% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 2.26% of the company's stock.
Spire Stock Up 0.1%
Shares of SR opened at $82.68 on Monday. Spire Inc. has a one year low of $73.91 and a one year high of $95.31. The company has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.76.
Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.32) by $0.06. Spire had a return on equity of 8.65% and a net margin of 21.48%.The firm had revenue of $420.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $394.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.01 EPS. The company's revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Spire has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.900-4.100 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Spire Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.79%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
SR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho started coverage on Spire in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Spire from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.00.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Spire
About Spire
(
Free Report)
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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