Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Position Increased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,583,880 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 36,022 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.49% of Spire worth $315,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SR. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Spire by 81.9% in 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 period. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Spire by 817.5% in 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 period. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its holdings in Spire by 31.8% in 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 period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in Spire in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Spire by 159.2% in 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SR traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $61.38. 361,643 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 548,984. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.51. Spire Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.77 and a twelve month high of $72.07. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (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 quarter last year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. The business's revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

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

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.