Northern Trust Corp Has $64.20 Million Stock Holdings in Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its position in Spire Inc. by 3.0% during the first quarter, now holding 820,403 shares worth approximately $64.20 million.
• Spire recently reported its quarterly earnings, surpassing analysts' expectations with an EPS of $0.01, compared to a consensus estimate of ($0.09).
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.785 per share, yielding 4.1%, which will be paid on October 2nd to stockholders of record.

Northern Trust Corp cut its position in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 820,403 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 25,209 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.39% of Spire worth $64,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Spire by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,022,870 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,381,000 after buying an additional 229,662 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Spire by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,002,938 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $68,028,000 after buying an additional 15,835 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Spire during the first quarter worth about $73,254,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Spire during the first quarter worth about $69,889,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in Spire by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 836,521 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $56,741,000 after buying an additional 42,934 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Spire Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of SR opened at $76.5390 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Spire Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $79.81. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $75.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.25.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.10. Spire had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 8.66%. The firm had revenue of $421.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $417.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.14) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Spire has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.400-4.60 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be paid a $0.785 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Spire's payout ratio is 67.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Spire from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Spire from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Spire in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.20.

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.

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