Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Has $48.13 Million Holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 772,012 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 80,405 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned 1.45% of Spire worth $48,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Spire by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,345 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its position in Spire by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 639 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Spire by 2.0% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Spire by 3.4% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its position in Spire by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,889 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE SR traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $59.34. The stock had a trading volume of 285,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 367,622. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $59.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.70. The firm has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.51. Spire Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.77 and a fifty-two week high of $72.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $756.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $688.88 million. Spire had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 8.11%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $0.755 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.09%. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of Spire stock in a transaction on 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 $92,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of Spire stock in a transaction on 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 $92,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 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. Insiders own 2.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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