Sei Investments Co. Sells 76,094 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Sei Investments Co. reduced its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 24.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 231,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 76,094 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Spire were worth $14,048,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Spire by 75.3% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $888,000 after buying an additional 6,283 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Spire by 197.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 21,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,281,000 after acquiring an additional 14,000 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 8.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 944,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,351,000 after purchasing an additional 72,119 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its position in shares of Spire by 12.4% during the second quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 288,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $17,511,000 after purchasing an additional 31,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Spire during the second quarter worth about $1,445,000. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spire Price Performance

Spire stock opened at $67.14 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.31. Spire Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.77 and a 12 month high of $68.02. The company has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.95, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.04. Spire had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 9.40%. The company had revenue of $414.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.42) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.23 EPS for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 4.50%. Spire’s payout ratio is 76.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on SR. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maria V. Fogarty sold 6,590 shares of Spire 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 directly owns 9,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $638,470. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, 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 sale, the director now 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total value of $32,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,899.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

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.