Wealthfront Advisers LLC Acquires Shares of 37,751 Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 37,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,561,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Spire in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 87.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 1,318.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Price Performance

SR opened at $76.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The business’s 50-day moving average is $72.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.77. Spire Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.27 and a 1 year high of $78.80.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire’s payout ratio is presently 76.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SR shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Spire from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Spire in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Mizuho upgraded Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America began coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

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.