Jane Street Group LLC Invests $9.64 Million in Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• Jane Street Group LLC acquired 123,147 shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) in Q1, totaling approximately $9.6 million, and now holds 0.21% of the company.
• Spire's stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" from analysts with a consensus target price of $79.20.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.785 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.1%, to be paid on October 2nd.

Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 123,147 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,636,000. Jane Street Group LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Spire at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Spire by 103.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Spire by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 177,950 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $13,925,000 after purchasing an additional 4,576 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Spire by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,833 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Spire during the first quarter worth $216,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Spire by 27.4% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,938 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spire Trading Up 0.3%

Spire stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $75.11. The stock had a trading volume of 568,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 453,749. Spire Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $79.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 16.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $75.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.38.

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 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 analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.14) EPS. Spire has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.400-4.60 EPS. Analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be given a $0.785 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Spire's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SR. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Spire in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $76.00 price target (down from $81.00) on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, August 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Spire and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Spire has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.20.

About Spire

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.