Leeward Investments LLC MA Has $8.60 Million Stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Leeward Investments LLC MA decreased its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 109,926 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,786 shares during the period. Leeward Investments LLC MA owned 0.19% of Spire worth $8,602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Spire by 2.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 177,950 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $13,925,000 after buying an additional 4,576 shares in the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its stake in Spire by 14.6% in the first quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,093 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Spire in the first quarter valued at $661,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Spire by 1.8% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 51,479 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,028,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Spire by 27.4% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,938 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of SR traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $73.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 448,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 407,491. The business has a fifty day moving average of $74.10 and a 200 day moving average of $73.53. The company has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.62. Spire Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.64 and a 1 year high of $79.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.70 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.15 billion. Spire had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 8.49%. Spire's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th were given a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 11th. Spire's payout ratio is 77.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Spire from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Spire in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.40.

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.