Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Purchases New Stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Spire Inc., purchasing 115,468 shares worth approximately $9.04 million, representing about 0.20% of the company's total shares.
• Institutional investors currently hold 87.36% of Spire's stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Spire Inc. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.785, with an annual yield of 4.2%, set to be paid on October 2nd.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 115,468 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,035,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.20% of Spire as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Spire by 2,648.0% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 687 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Spire by 66.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 727 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Spire by 103.8% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 803 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Spire by 21.7% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 914 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Stock Performance

NYSE SR traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $75.58. The company had a trading volume of 288,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 458,303. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.37. Spire Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $79.81. The company has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day moving average of $74.33 and a 200-day moving average of $74.69.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $421.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $417.27 million. Spire had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 8.66%. Spire's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.14) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SR. Wall Street Zen raised Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Spire from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 target price on Spire and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Spire in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.60.

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.