Xponance Inc. Increases Stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Xponance Inc. grew its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Spire were worth $550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Spire by 87.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 1,318.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in Spire by 431.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SR opened at $76.83 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $73.70 and a 200 day moving average of $69.36. The company has a market cap of $4.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.27 and a 12-month high of $78.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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

Spire Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on SR. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Mizuho raised their price target on Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com cut Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America assumed coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $72.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Spire presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Spire 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.