Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Position Raised by Legato Capital Management LLC

Legato Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 57.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,640 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,015 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC's holdings in Spire were worth $1,928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Spire during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,198,000. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $361,000. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of Spire by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,115 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Spire by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 220,327 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,945,000 after acquiring an additional 15,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Spire in the 4th quarter valued at $1,979,000. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Trading Up 1.1%

Spire stock opened at $77.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $73.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.12. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $79.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 8.49%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.45 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th were given a $0.785 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. Spire's payout ratio is 77.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 price target on shares of Spire and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Spire in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.

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