Zimmer Partners LP Purchases Shares of 443,500 Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 443,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $30,083,000. Zimmer Partners LP owned about 0.76% of Spire as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 431.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 627 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SR shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.40.

Spire Stock Up 1.5%

SR stock opened at $74.44 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Spire Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.77 and a 12 month high of $79.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $76.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.29.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.70 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The firm's revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.45 EPS. As a group, 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 4.22%. Spire's payout ratio is 77.34%.

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.

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