Millennium Management LLC Sells 100,338 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Millennium Management LLC lowered its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 28.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 248,199 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 100,338 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.43% of Spire worth $16,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Spire by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in shares of Spire by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 9,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Spire by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,308 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Spire by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,406 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Spire by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,337 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Stock Up 1.1%

SR stock traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $75.46. 467,154 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 395,184. The company has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $75.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.77 and a 52 week high of $79.81.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.70 by ($0.10). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.45 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $0.785 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. Spire's payout ratio is 77.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Spire from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Spire from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.40.

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.