Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Invests $69.89 Million in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 893,162 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $69,889,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned about 1.53% of Spire as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,833 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Spire during the first quarter valued at $216,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Spire by 449.0% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,810 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 9,659 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Spire by 66.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 727 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Spire by 3.2% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,915 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Spire from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Spire from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Spire from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Spire has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.40.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SR traded up $0.22 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.44. The stock had a trading volume of 301,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,700. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.43. Spire Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.19 and a 1-year high of $79.81. The stock has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $74.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.11.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.70 by ($0.10). Spire had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 8.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.45 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $0.785 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.33%. Spire's payout ratio is 77.34%.

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.