OLD Republic International Corp Grows Stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

OLD Republic International Corp lifted its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 433,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the period. OLD Republic International Corp owned approximately 0.74% of Spire worth $33,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Spire by 66.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 727 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Spire by 103.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 803 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter worth $68,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spire Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of SR traded up $0.63 on Thursday, reaching $74.64. The stock had a trading volume of 417,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 408,300. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.59. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $59.00 and a 12-month high of $79.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.43.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $3.60 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 8.49% and a net margin of 10.22%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. Spire's payout ratio is 77.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Spire from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Spire in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on Spire from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.40.

About Spire

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.