UBS Group AG Cuts Position in Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• UBS Group AG cut its stake in Spire by 22.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 113,454 shares and ending with 384,203 shares valued at about $31.8 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but generally positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.44. Recent calls included buy, hold, and sell ratings from different firms.
• Spire reported solid quarterly results and maintained a dividend, posting adjusted EPS of $3.76 versus $3.72 expected and declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, implying a 3.9% yield.

UBS Group AG decreased its holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 22.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 384,203 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 113,454 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.65% of Spire worth $31,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Optima Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in Spire in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Spire by 186.8% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Spire in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on SR. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Spire from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Spire from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $95.44.

Spire Stock Up 0.2%

SR stock opened at $85.68 on Friday. Spire Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.94 and a twelve month high of $95.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.06, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.62.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.04. Spire had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.60 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.74%.

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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