Leeward Investments LLC MA Has $7.51 Million Stock Holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Leeward Investments LLC MA increased its holdings in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 123,699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,567 shares during the period. Leeward Investments LLC MA owned about 0.21% of Spire worth $7,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,001,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,233,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,401,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Spire by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 374,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,364,000 after purchasing an additional 61,564 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Spire by 197.4% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 162,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,850,000 after purchasing an additional 107,662 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In related news, Director Maria V. Fogarty sold 6,590 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $638,470. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Spire news, EVP Steven P. Rasche acquired 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.83 per share, with a total value of $107,235.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,500 shares in the company, valued at $393,195. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Maria V. Fogarty sold 6,590 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.15, for a total transaction of $429,338.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,800 shares in the company, valued at $638,470. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SR shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Spire from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Mizuho downgraded 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 boosted their target price on shares of Spire from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, April 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $57.50 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.50.

Spire Stock Up 0.2 %

SR stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $64.82. 4,864 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 428,202. The company has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $62.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.77 and a 52 week high of $68.02.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.04. Spire had a net margin of 9.40% and a return on equity of 8.10%. The firm had revenue of $414.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.42) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be paid a $0.755 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a $3.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.66%. Spire’s payout ratio is 76.26%.

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.