Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Stock Position Lowered by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Spire worth $3,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter valued at $2,001,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,130,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in Spire by 11.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 80,405 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Spire by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 374,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,364,000 after acquiring an additional 61,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Spire by 125.6% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 627,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,121,000 after acquiring an additional 349,393 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Spire Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of SR traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $60.10. The stock had a trading volume of 321,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 442,835. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Spire Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.77 and a twelve month high of $66.48.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $3.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.86 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Spire had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 7.88%. Spire’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.70 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.755 per share. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 11th. Spire’s payout ratio is currently 76.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SR has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Spire from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Spire from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. UBS Group assumed coverage on Spire in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Spire news, EVP Steven P. Rasche purchased 4,500 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.83 per share, for a total transaction of $107,235.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 16,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $393,195. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.86% of the stock is currently 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.