Spire (NYSE:SR) Director Acquires $40,250.00 in Stock

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Director Paul Koonce acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $80.50 per share, with a total value of $40,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $603,750. This represents a 7.14% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of Spire stock opened at $82.33 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.12. The company has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.52. Spire Inc. has a one year low of $71.24 and a one year high of $95.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. Spire had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 13.97%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Spire’s payout ratio is presently 58.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $96.00 price objective on Spire in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wolfe Research started coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spire currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.22.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Spire by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,348,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Spire by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Spire by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $474,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Spire by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Spire by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Company Profile

Spire Inc (NYSE: SR), formerly known as The Laclede Group, is a regulated natural gas distribution company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Through its three operating divisions—Spire Missouri, Spire Alabama and Spire Mississippi—the company delivers natural gas to more than 1.7 million residential, commercial and industrial customers. Spire’s service territory spans key markets in the central and southern United States, including metropolitan St. Louis, central Alabama and central Mississippi.

Founded in 1857 as the Laclede Gas Light Company, the business has grown through strategic acquisitions, notably Alabama Gas Corporation in 2013 and Mississippi Gas in 2016.