Spire Inc. $SR Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its shareholding in Spire Inc. by 19.2%, now owning approximately 1.4% of the company valued at $64.7 million.
• Spire reported earnings of $0.01 per share, exceeding analyst expectations and a revenue increase of 1.9% year-over-year, totaling $421.9 million for the quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.785, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.0%, with a payout ratio currently at 67.82%.

Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 19.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 826,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 195,947 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 1.40% of Spire worth $64,707,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Spire in the 1st quarter valued at about $73,254,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Spire in the first quarter valued at $69,889,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in Spire during the fourth quarter worth about $30,083,000. Sourcerock Group LLC purchased a new position in Spire during the fourth quarter worth about $12,567,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Spire in the 1st quarter worth about $12,354,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SR shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Spire in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Spire from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Spire from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.20.

Spire Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE SR traded down $0.09 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $76.47. 484,214 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 455,087. The company has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.66. The business's 50-day moving average price is $75.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Spire Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $79.81.

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. Spire had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 8.66%. The firm had revenue of $421.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $417.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.14) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Spire has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.400-4.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.82%.

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.