TD Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR – Get Rating) by 79.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,700 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Spire worth $4,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Spire by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 6,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Spire in the 3rd quarter valued at $361,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Spire by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 492,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,709,000 after buying an additional 71,410 shares during the last quarter. Cowa LLC purchased a new position in Spire in the 3rd quarter valued at $75,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in Spire by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 12,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $776,000 after buying an additional 3,723 shares during the last quarter. 99.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms recently weighed in on SR. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Spire from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Spire from $78.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Spire from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $69.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, December 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Spire from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Spire from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.00.
Spire Price Performance
Spire stock opened at $75.59 on Friday. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.52 and a 52 week high of $79.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.46.
Spire (NYSE:SR – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.49. Spire had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 9.18%. The business had revenue of $814.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $561.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Spire Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 10th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 9th. This is a positive change from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. Spire’s payout ratio is currently 62.20%.
Spire Company Profile
Spire Inc operates as a public utility holding company, which provides natural gas service through its utility operations while engaging in non-regulated activities. It operates through the Gas Utility and Gas Marketing Business segments. The Gas Utility segment includes the regulated operations of Laclede Gas Company and Alabama Gas Corporation.