Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $1.07 Million Position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,397 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Spire were worth $1,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter valued at $2,001,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Spire by 11.6% in the fourth 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 during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Spire by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 31,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,958,000 after acquiring an additional 7,089 shares during the period. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Spire by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 171,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,720,000 after acquiring an additional 2,329 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,130,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total value of $73,223.82. Following the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total value of $75,220.22. Following 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total value of $73,223.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $92,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Spire Price Performance

Spire stock opened at $61.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.51. Spire Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.77 and a 52-week high of $70.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $59.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $756.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $688.88 million. Spire had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 8.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.755 per share. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. Spire’s payout ratio is 81.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SR shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spire presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.25.

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.