Spire Inc. $SR Shares Acquired by ExodusPoint Capital Management LP

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP increased its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 46.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 293,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 92,841 shares during the quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP’s holdings in Spire were worth $24,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new stake in shares of Spire in the third quarter valued at $1,414,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 30.8% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 374,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,493,000 after buying an additional 88,154 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,430,368 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $531,791,000 after buying an additional 19,326 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 594,240 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,144,000 after buying an additional 57,487 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 7.5% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,220,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,468,000 after buying an additional 85,004 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Spire in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. TD Cowen began coverage on Spire in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $96.00 target price on Spire in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Spire in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In related news, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total transaction of $307,709.22. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,150,890.45. The trade was a 21.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $85.81 per share, for a total transaction of $171,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $600,670. This trade represents a 40.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased 3,000 shares of company stock worth $251,100 over the last three months. 2.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Spire Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Spire stock opened at $78.35 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $86.91 and its 200-day moving average is $86.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.24 and a 12-month high of $95.31.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Spire had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 13.97%.Spire’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. Spire’s payout ratio is presently 58.00%.

Spire 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.