Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Shares Bought by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 5.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Spire were worth $935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Spire in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Spire in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Spire during the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Spire by 26.8% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire in the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Spire Stock Performance

Spire stock opened at $66.28 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.52. Spire Inc. has a one year low of $53.77 and a one year high of $68.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $64.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.90. 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 posted 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. The business had revenue of $414.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.86 million. Spire had a net margin of 9.40% and a return on equity of 8.10%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.42) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be paid a $0.755 dividend. This represents a $3.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in 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 report on Monday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.50.

Insider Activity at Spire

In related news, Director Maria V. Fogarty sold 6,590 shares of Spire stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.15, for a total value of $429,338.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,800 shares in the company, valued at $638,470. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Spire news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 7,311 shares in the company, valued at $473,899.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Maria V. Fogarty sold 6,590 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.15, for a total value of $429,338.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $638,470. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.