Jump Financial LLC Makes New $1.43 Million Investment in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 21,135 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,434,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its stake in shares of Spire by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 67,768 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,597,000 after purchasing an additional 7,822 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter worth approximately $281,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth $324,000. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 175.0% during the 4th quarter. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. now owns 44,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,985,000 after purchasing an additional 28,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 8,627 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 1,351 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Trading Down 0.7 %

Spire stock traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $77.40. The stock had a trading volume of 93,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 387,534. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.56. Spire Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.77 and a 12 month high of $79.81.

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

Spire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. Spire's payout ratio is presently 76.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.