New York State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 18.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,974 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 12,823 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.11% of Spire worth $3,614,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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 valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Spire by 817.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 578 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in Spire during the 3rd quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on SR. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday. They set a "buy" rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho lowered their target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spire presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.25.

Spire Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE SR traded down $0.28 during trading on Monday, hitting $58.38. 337,726 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 511,468. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.77 and a 12-month high of $70.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $59.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.51.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.755 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.17%. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.40%.

Insider Activity at Spire

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

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.