Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Increases Holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Spire were worth $643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the first quarter worth about $270,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 75.9% in the second quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,498 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the first quarter worth about $3,353,000. Credit Suisse AG increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 4.6% in the first quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 64,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,514,000 after purchasing an additional 2,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the second quarter worth about $584,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spire Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SR opened at $54.80 on Friday. Spire Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.77 and a 1 year high of $75.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported ($0.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.40). Spire had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The business had revenue of $418.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $428.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.01 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 11th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 8th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.26%. Spire’s payout ratio is 66.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SR has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Spire from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 6th. Mizuho raised Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Friday, September 29th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Spire from $65.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. StockNews.com raised Spire to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Spire from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.88.

Insider Activity at Spire

In other news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $58.70 per share, for a total transaction of $58,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the treasurer now owns 4,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $245,953. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Steven P. Rasche bought 3,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $30.82 per share, for a total transaction of $95,542.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,665 shares in the company, valued at $1,068,375.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $58.70 per share, with a total value of $58,700.00. Following the acquisition, the treasurer now owns 4,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $245,953. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 9,100 shares of company stock worth $450,592. Company insiders own 2.93% 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 two segments, Gas Utility and Gas Marketing. It is also involved in the marketing of natural gas.