Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Has $10.36 Million Stock Position in Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• Exchange Traded Concepts LLC has reduced its stake in Spire Inc. by 4.1%, selling 6,087 shares and owning a total of 141,866 shares valued at approximately $10.36 million.
• Spire recently reported earnings with a net profit of $0.01 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing a 1.9% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.785 per share, representing an annualized yield of 4.1%, with a payout ratio of 67.82%.

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lowered its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 4.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 141,866 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,087 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC owned 0.24% of Spire worth $10,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SR. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Spire in the 1st quarter worth $73,254,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in Spire in the 1st quarter valued at about $69,889,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Spire during the first quarter worth approximately $30,322,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 110.4% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 522,323 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,872,000 after purchasing an additional 274,124 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Spire by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,022,870 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,381,000 after acquiring an additional 229,662 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Price Performance

Spire stock traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $76.50. The stock had a trading volume of 1,214,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 404,164. The stock's fifty day moving average is $75.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Spire Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $79.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Spire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Spire's payout ratio is 67.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SR. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $76.00 price target (down previously from $81.00) on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Spire in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Spire from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 price target on shares of Spire and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.