Vanguard Group Inc. Has $483.42 Million Position in Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has increased its stake in Spire Inc. by 0.2% during Q1, now holding about 10.47% of the company, valued at approximately $483 million.
• Spire recently reported earnings topping expectations with a net margin of 11.56% and revenue of $421.90 million for the quarter, which is a 1.9% increase from the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.785, which will be paid on October 2nd, representing an annualized yield of 4.1%.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 0.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,177,822 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,601 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.47% of Spire worth $483,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Spire by 1.7% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,870 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Spire by 3.2% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,915 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Spire by 21.7% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 914 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Spire by 5.5% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,672 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in shares of Spire by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 9,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Spire from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Spire in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $76.00 target price (down previously from $81.00) on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.20.

Spire Price Performance

Spire stock traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $75.30. 152,128 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 456,408. The business has a fifty day moving average of $74.63 and a 200 day moving average of $75.06. 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 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $79.81. The company has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.66.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 11.56%. The business had revenue of $421.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $417.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.14) EPS. Spire's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio is 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.