Meeder Asset Management Inc. Invests $4.38 Million in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired 56,014 shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE: SR) valued at approximately $4.38 million, representing 0.09% of the company's stock.
• Several institutional investors, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Vanguard Group Inc., have also increased their stakes in Spire, contributing to institutional ownership of 87.36% of the company.
• Spire's recent earnings report showed a loss in quarterly earnings per share, reporting $3.60 against an expectation of $3.70, alongside a 6.8% year-over-year decline in revenue.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 56,014 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,383,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Spire at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the 1st quarter worth $218,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Spire by 5.5% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,672 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in Spire by 42.2% during the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 40,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,163,000 after acquiring an additional 11,995 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Spire by 23.2% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,402 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 26.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 10,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $809,000 after purchasing an additional 2,188 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $74.49. The company had a trading volume of 335,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 451,284. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.33, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.62. Spire Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $74.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.51.

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

Spire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be paid a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SR shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Spire from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Spire and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Spire from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Spire in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.60.

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.