Spire Inc. $SR Holdings Raised by ExodusPoint Capital Management LP

Key Points

• ExodusPoint Capital Management increased its stake in Spire by 46.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with 293,233 shares valued at about $24.25 million.
• Spire reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $3.76, though revenue of $1.02 billion came in below analyst estimates. The company also said revenue rose 4.5% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 4.2%, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $96.22.

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP grew its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 46.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 293,233 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 92,841 shares during the quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.50% of Spire worth $24,250,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,414,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 374,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,493,000 after acquiring an additional 88,154 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,430,368 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $531,791,000 after acquiring an additional 19,326 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 594,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $49,144,000 after acquiring an additional 57,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in Spire by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,220,171 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $99,468,000 after purchasing an additional 85,004 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Spire Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of SR stock opened at $78.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.55. Spire Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.24 and a 1 year high of $95.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $86.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.52.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.04. Spire had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 13.97%.The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.60 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Spire's payout ratio is 58.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Spire from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Spire in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a "hold" rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Spire in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 2,000 shares of Spire stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $85.81 per share, for a total transaction of $171,620.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $600,670. The trade was a 40.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total value of $307,709.22. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,150,890.45. This trade represents a 21.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have acquired a total of 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $251,100 in the last quarter. 2.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Spire Profile

Spire Inc NYSE: SR, formerly known as The Laclede Group, is a regulated natural gas distribution company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Through its three operating divisions—Spire Missouri, Spire Alabama and Spire Mississippi—the company delivers natural gas to more than 1.7 million residential, commercial and industrial customers. Spire's service territory spans key markets in the central and southern United States, including metropolitan St. Louis, central Alabama and central Mississippi.

Founded in 1857 as the Laclede Gas Light Company, the business has grown through strategic acquisitions, notably Alabama Gas Corporation in 2013 and Mississippi Gas in 2016.

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