Inspire Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Key Points

• Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in Spire Inc. by 42.2% during the first quarter, owning 40,423 shares valued at approximately $3.16 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have also adjusted their holdings, with 87.36% of the company's stock now owned by such entities.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed opinions on Spire's stock, with an average rating of "Hold" and a revised target price of $78.60.

Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 42.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,995 shares during the quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Spire worth $3,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Spire in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Spire by 66.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 727 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Spire by 103.8% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 803 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth $68,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Spire by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 914 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SR. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Spire from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 price objective on Spire and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Spire from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.60.

Spire Price Performance

Spire stock traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $73.11. 275,665 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 441,985. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $74.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.46. The company has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.62. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $61.56 and a 12-month high of $79.81.

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). The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for 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 business's quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.45 EPS. Analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.