Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Shares Sold by Leeward Investments LLC MA

Leeward Investments LLC MA trimmed its holdings in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 117,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,997 shares during the period. Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings in Spire were worth $7,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Spire by 101.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 37,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,128,000 after acquiring an additional 18,917 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Spire by 186.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,691 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 4,355 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $835,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Spire by 216.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 13,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 9,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in Spire by 451.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 24,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 19,724 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Spire news, EVP Steven P. Rasche acquired 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $23.83 per share, with a total value of $107,235.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $393,195. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SR traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $60.04. The company had a trading volume of 98,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 350,374. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.32. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Spire Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.77 and a twelve month high of $66.48.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.86 by ($0.41). Spire had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 9.05%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 11th were given a $0.755 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $3.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.03%. Spire’s payout ratio is 76.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on SR. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, April 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $57.50 price target for the company. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Spire from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Spire from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Spire from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given 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 a consensus price target of $61.83.

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.