UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR – Get Rating) by 18.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 31,689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,842 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned about 0.06% of Spire worth $2,182,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Spire by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after acquiring an additional 1,904 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its position in Spire by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,799 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the period. Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the 3rd quarter valued at about $475,000. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 170,669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,874,000 after buying an additional 3,656 shares during the period. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter worth about $312,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.86% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SR shares. Mizuho cut their price target on Spire from $73.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Spire from $75.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Spire has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.00.
Spire Stock Up 3.0 %
Shares of NYSE:SR opened at $65.51 on Monday. Spire Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.52 and a 52-week high of $78.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The business has a fifty day moving average of $68.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.83. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.97, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.49.
Spire (NYSE:SR – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $3.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $887.98 million. Spire had a net margin of 9.69% and a return on equity of 9.75%. Spire’s quarterly revenue was up 27.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.
Spire Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 5th. Investors of record on Monday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 9th. Spire’s payout ratio is 61.41%.
Spire 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.