Credit Suisse AG Boosts Holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Credit Suisse AG lifted its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,813 shares during the quarter. Credit Suisse AG owned 0.12% of Spire worth $4,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Spire by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Spire by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Spire by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Spire by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 26,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,868,000 after buying an additional 1,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its holdings in Spire by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 61,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,635,000 after buying an additional 7,086 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:SR opened at $59.26 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $61.89 and a 200 day moving average of $66.20. The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.00 and a 12-month high of $75.83.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported ($0.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.40). The company had revenue of $418.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $428.86 million. Spire had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The company’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.17 EPS for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 11th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 8th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.86%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.27 per share, with a total value of $296,350.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $296,350. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Spire from $73.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Spire in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Guggenheim cut their price target on Spire from $69.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Spire from $75.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Spire from $73.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.38.

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 two segments, Gas Utility and Gas Marketing. It is also involved in the marketing of natural gas.