International Assets Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 32,105 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,001,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of Spire at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SR. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 31.8% during the 1st 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. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 9,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 6,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Price Performance

SR stock opened at $60.91 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.81. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.51. 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.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (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 period in the prior year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $0.755 dividend. This represents a $3.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on SR. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. 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. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.25.

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.