Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 29.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,089 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Spire worth $1,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Spire by 2.7% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Spire by 31.8% during the first quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Spire by 2.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 9,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Spire by 3.4% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 6,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning grew its holdings in Spire by 3.1% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Spire news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total transaction of $75,220.22. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $393,423.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total transaction of $73,223.82. Following the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now owns 6,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $393,423.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Spire Stock Performance

Spire stock opened at $60.91 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $59.76 and its 200-day moving average is $59.81. The company has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.51. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.77 and a 12 month high of $70.60.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $756.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.88 million. Spire had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 8.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.96%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Spire in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a 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 report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.