Hsbc Holdings PLC Takes Position in Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Spire Inc., buying 18,089 shares valued at about $1.49 million.
• Institutional interest in Spire remains strong, with several large investors increasing or initiating positions; the company is now 87.36% owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts are largely constructive on Spire, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $95.10, while the stock recently traded at $78.08.

Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 18,089 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,490,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in Spire by 158.1% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 612,500 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,226,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 44.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 846,263 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $68,987,000 after purchasing an additional 260,344 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 647,646 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $53,560,000 after purchasing an additional 185,796 shares during the period. Finally, South Street Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,213,000. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SR. Morgan Stanley set a $96.00 price target on Spire in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Spire in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Spire in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a "hold" rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Spire in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. Two 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.10.

Spire Price Performance

SR stock opened at $78.08 on Wednesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $83.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.35. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Spire Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.24 and a 12 month high of $95.31.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.60 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Spire's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $627,680. The trade was a 6.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 3,000 shares of company stock worth $251,100. Company insiders own 2.26% of the company's stock.

Spire 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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