Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 3,260 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 30.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,260 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Spire were worth $958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 5.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,244,000 after buying an additional 71,798 shares in the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the third quarter worth approximately $4,067,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the third quarter worth approximately $790,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 4.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 805,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,231,000 after buying an additional 36,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SR opened at $77.37 on Friday. Spire Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.27 and a 12 month high of $78.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.08. The firm has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 9.70%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.785 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. Spire’s payout ratio is currently 76.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Spire from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

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.