Hsbc Holdings PLC Trims Stock Position in Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in Spire Inc. by 47.6%, now holding 4,143 shares valued at $324,000 after selling 3,756 shares during the first quarter.
• Spire recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.01, exceeding consensus estimates, with revenue of $421.90 million, a 1.9% year-over-year increase.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.785 per share, with a 4.2% yield, to be paid on October 2nd for investors of record on September 11th.

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 47.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,143 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,756 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Spire were worth $324,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Spire by 1.7% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,870 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Spire by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,915 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Spire by 21.7% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 914 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Spire by 5.5% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,672 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Spire by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,210 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR traded down $0.52 on Monday, reaching $75.02. 185,648 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 451,047. Spire Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $79.81. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $75.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 11th will be issued a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Spire from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $76.00 price objective (down previously from $81.00) on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Spire in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 target price on shares of Spire and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Spire currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.20.

Spire Company 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.