UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Has $13.10 Million Stock Holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 193,065 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,454 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.33% of Spire worth $13,096,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Spire in the 4th quarter valued at $42,432,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,083,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Spire by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,022,870 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,381,000 after purchasing an additional 229,662 shares during the last quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,567,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Spire by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 722,782 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $49,026,000 after purchasing an additional 139,815 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Price Performance

SR traded down $0.48 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $74.17. 28,510 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 396,842. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.37. Spire Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.77 and a twelve month high of $79.81. The company has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $75.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.97.

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

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 11th. Spire's payout ratio is 77.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho increased their target price on Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.20.

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.