Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Trims Stake in Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Spire Inc. by 23.8%, owning 2,457,227 shares after selling 765,928 shares, with Spire making up 0.7% of their portfolio.
• Spire announced a quarterly dividend of $0.785, translating to an annualized dividend of $3.14 and a yield of 4.1%, with a payout ratio of 67.82%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Spire, with an average rating of "Hold" and a price target of $79.20, while the company's recent earnings report showed a profit of $0.01 per share, beating estimates.

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 23.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,457,227 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 765,928 shares during the quarter. Spire makes up 0.7% of Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned 4.16% of Spire worth $192,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SR. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Spire in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in Spire by 2,648.0% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 687 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Spire by 66.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 727 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Spire by 103.8% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 803 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Spire by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 914 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SR traded up $1.9150 on Friday, reaching $77.9150. The company's stock had a trading volume of 523,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 456,376. Spire Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $79.81. The company has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.37.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.10. The business had revenue of $421.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $417.27 million. Spire had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 8.66%. The business's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.14) EPS. Spire has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.400-4.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 11th will be given a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio is 67.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Spire in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a 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 report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Spire from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Spire presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.20.

Spire 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.