SG Americas Securities LLC Boosts Position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 613 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Spire were worth $750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SR. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter worth about $2,001,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter worth about $923,000. Strs Ohio boosted its position in shares of Spire by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $180,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Spire by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,907 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SR shares. Mizuho lowered shares of Spire from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $64.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Spire from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com raised Spire from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Spire in a research note on Friday, April 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $57.50 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.50.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR stock opened at $64.72 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.48. Spire Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.77 and a fifty-two week high of $68.02. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.34, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.01.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $414.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.86 million. Spire had a net margin of 9.40% and a return on equity of 8.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.42) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be given a $0.755 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.67%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maria V. Fogarty sold 6,590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $638,470. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Steven P. Rasche bought 4,500 shares of Spire stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.83 per share, for a total transaction of $107,235.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 16,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $393,195. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maria V. Fogarty sold 6,590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 9,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $638,470. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

About Spire

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.