William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 883 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

William Blair Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 463,252 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 883 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.80% of Spire worth $28,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Spire during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Spire during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Spire during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Spire during the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Spire by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Spire news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total transaction of $32,410.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,899.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Spire news, Director Maria V. Fogarty sold 6,590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.15, for a total transaction of $429,338.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $638,470. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total value of $32,410.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,311 shares in the company, valued at $473,899.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of Spire stock opened at $66.28 on Monday. Spire Inc. has a one year low of $53.77 and a one year high of $68.02. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.90 and its 200 day moving average is $61.94. The stock has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.48.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.04. Spire had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 9.40%. The company had revenue of $414.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.86 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.42) EPS. Spire’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be issued a $0.755 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.56%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on SR shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Spire from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.50.

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.