Edgestream Partners L.P. Raises Stock Position in Spire Inc. $SR

Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 226.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125,465 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 87,036 shares during the period. Spire accounts for 0.4% of Edgestream Partners L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Spire were worth $11,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Spire by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,348,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Spire by 2.3% during the first quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Spire by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Spire by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total value of $307,709.22. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,150,890.45. The trade was a 21.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $85.81 per share, for a total transaction of $171,620.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $600,670. This trade represents a 40.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $251,100. 2.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. BTIG Research set a $101.00 price target on Spire in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Spire currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.50.

Spire Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE:SR opened at $80.91 on Thursday. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.82 and a 12-month high of $95.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.05. The firm has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.22, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.52.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its quarterly 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. Spire had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 13.97%.The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

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.