558,956 Shares in Spire Inc. $SR Acquired by Norges Bank

Norges Bank purchased a new position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 558,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $46,226,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in Spire by 158.1% in the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,990,000 after purchasing an additional 612,500 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Spire by 44.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 846,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,987,000 after purchasing an additional 260,344 shares during the period. South Street Advisors LLC bought a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,213,000. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Spire by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 497,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,569,000 after purchasing an additional 172,493 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Spire by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,411,042 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $522,628,000 after purchasing an additional 123,584 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Spire Stock Down 2.3%

NYSE SR opened at $80.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14, 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $88.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.10.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Spire had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 13.97%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Spire in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $96.00 target price on Spire in a report on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Spire in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $101.00 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.22.

Insider Activity at Spire

In other news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $85.81 per share, for a total transaction of $171,620.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $600,670. The trade was a 40.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

About Spire

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.