Short Interest in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Declines By 25.6%

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,450,000 shares, a drop of 25.6% from the February 29th total of 1,950,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 540,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR stock traded up $0.80 during trading on Friday, reaching $61.37. 361,643 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 394,359. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.51. Spire has a twelve month low of $53.77 and a twelve month high of $72.07. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $59.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.69.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.10. Spire had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 8.11%. The firm had revenue of $756.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Spire will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.755 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.92%. Spire's payout ratio is 81.40%.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In related news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total value of $73,223.82. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $92,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total transaction of $75,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $393,423.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total value of $73,223.82. Following the transaction, the treasurer now owns 1,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $92,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Spire

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Spire by 817.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 578 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Spire by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 639 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Spire by 81.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 644 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Spire by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Spire by 159.2% during the 1st quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Mizuho cut their price objective on Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.43.

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.