Teacher Retirement System of Texas Makes New $661,000 Investment in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 8,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $661,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Spire by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 4,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at $1,592,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at $3,198,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $958,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter worth about $1,030,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Price Performance

Spire stock opened at $75.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.62. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $79.81. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.70 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. Spire had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 8.49%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th were given a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 target price on Spire and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Spire from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Spire from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Spire in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.60.

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.