Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Shares Sold by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. lowered its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 93.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,044 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 29,286 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.'s holdings in Spire were worth $116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Spire by 2.7% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,345 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 31.8% in the first quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 639 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 2.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 9,888 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 3.4% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 6,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 3.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,889 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $92,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $92,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total value of $75,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Company insiders own 2.86% of the company's stock.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR traded up $0.80 on Friday, reaching $61.37. 361,643 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 391,350. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.51. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $59.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.68. Spire Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.77 and a 52-week high of $72.07.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $756.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.88 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Mizuho dropped their target price 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 assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.43.

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.