Wells Fargo & Company MN Boosts Holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 21.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,022 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 10,402 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned about 0.10% of Spire worth $3,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SR. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Spire by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,022,870 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $69,381,000 after acquiring an additional 229,662 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,432,000. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of Spire by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Spire by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,701 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,079,000 after buying an additional 138,971 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spire Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE SR traded down $0.95 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $77.01. 472,442 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 389,238. The company has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.56. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $76.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Spire Inc. has a one year low of $57.77 and a one year high of $79.81.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. On average, analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. Spire's payout ratio is 76.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on SR. Guggenheim increased their target price on Spire from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Spire from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.70.

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.