Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 36,283 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 644,025 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 36,283 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 1.10% of Spire worth $50,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Spire during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Spire in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 66.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 727 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 103.8% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 803 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter worth $68,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $75.31. The company had a trading volume of 347,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 413,393. The firm has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of $73.83 and a 200-day moving average of $73.98. Spire Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $79.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.70 by ($0.10). Spire had a return on equity of 8.49% and a net margin of 10.22%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.45 earnings per share. Spire's revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th were paid a $0.785 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Spire's payout ratio is currently 77.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SR has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of 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 upped their target price on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 target price on shares of Spire and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Spire from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spire has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.60.

Spire Company 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.