Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 125.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 627,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 349,393 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Spire were worth $39,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SR. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 85.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 48,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,724,000 after buying an additional 22,216 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Spire by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Spire by 48.5% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Spire by 11.9% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Spire by 8.6% in the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 6,867 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR stock opened at $61.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.61. Spire Inc. has a one year low of $53.77 and a one year high of $69.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $60.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.14.

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

Spire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be given a $0.755 dividend. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on SR. Mizuho lowered Spire from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Spire from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Spire from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, April 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $57.50 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spire currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.72.

Insider Activity at Spire

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

Spire 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 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.