Swiss National Bank Sells 15,800 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Swiss National Bank cut its holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,650 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 15,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.19% of Spire worth $6,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SR. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter valued at $2,001,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter worth about $2,130,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Spire by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 772,012 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,127,000 after buying an additional 80,405 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Spire by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 24,324 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,376,000 after buying an additional 2,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Spire by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 278,155 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $15,738,000 after buying an additional 29,666 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Trading Up 0.5 %

SR traded up $0.30 during trading on Thursday, hitting $62.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 234,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 480,228. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.50. Spire Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.77 and a twelve month high of $68.94. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $60.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Spire had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The firm's revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.70 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.755 per share. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on SR. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Spire from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on Spire in a report on Friday, April 26th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $57.50 target price on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on Spire in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho lowered Spire from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.72.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were 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 owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.86% of the stock is owned by company 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.