Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,223,155 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 128,654 shares during the quarter. Spire comprises about 0.8% of Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 5.52% of Spire worth $218,627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SR. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in Spire by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its stake in Spire by 2.3% during 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Spire by 87.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Spire by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,308 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Spire by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,406 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on SR shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Spire from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Spire from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com raised Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.70.

Spire Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:SR traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $76.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 102,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 433,082. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $76.38 and a 200-day moving average of $71.20. 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 52-week low of $57.77 and a 52-week high of $79.81.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be issued a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.03%.

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.