Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue cut its holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,683 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 570 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Spire were worth $354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Spire by 81.9% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in Spire by 817.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 578 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its position in Spire by 31.8% during the first quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in Spire in the third quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 159.2% in the first quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spire Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of SR stock opened at $58.66 on Friday. Spire Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.77 and a 1-year high of $70.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $59.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.51.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.10. Spire had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The firm had revenue of $756.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $688.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.755 dividend. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SR has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Spire currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Spire news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total transaction of $75,220.22. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,768 shares in the company, valued at $393,423.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Spire news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total transaction of $75,220.22. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,768 shares in the company, valued at $393,423.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total value of $73,223.82. Following the sale, the treasurer now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $92,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

About Spire

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.