Retirement Systems of Alabama Acquires 201 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Spire were worth $4,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Spire by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,968,088 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $394,254,000 after buying an additional 52,893 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Spire by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,583,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $315,936,000 after buying an additional 36,022 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Spire by 126.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,501,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,123,000 after buying an additional 1,951,969 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Spire by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 788,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,624,000 after buying an additional 161,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in Spire by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 772,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,127,000 after buying an additional 80,405 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Spire Stock Down 0.2 %

SR opened at $61.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.14. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.77 and a 52 week high of $69.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.86 by ($0.41). Spire had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.755 per share. This represents a $3.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.26%.

Insider Activity at Spire

In related news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total value of $75,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $393,423.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total value of $75,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $393,423.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total transaction of $73,223.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SR has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Spire in a research note on Friday, April 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $57.50 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Spire from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Mizuho lowered Spire from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spire presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.72.

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.