Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Shares Sold by Boston Partners

Boston Partners lessened its holdings in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,466 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned about 0.05% of Spire worth $2,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Spire by 87.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Spire by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,406 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Spire by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC grew its holdings in Spire by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 4,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Spire stock opened at $76.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Spire Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.27 and a 1 year high of $78.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $73.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.16. The company has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. As a group, analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is 76.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $72.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Spire in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.00.

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.