IFM Investors Pty Ltd Invests $444,000 in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $444,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Spire by 11.2% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $584,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 1.5% during the third quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 61,791 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,496,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its position in shares of Spire by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 3,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 85.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 48,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 22,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price target 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $57.50 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of Spire stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the treasurer now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total transaction of $73,223.82. Following the transaction, the treasurer now 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,768 shares in the company, valued at $393,423.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Spire Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of SR traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $61.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 361,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 320,353. The company has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.51. Spire Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.77 and a 1 year high of $69.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The business has a fifty day moving average of $60.01 and a 200 day moving average of $60.00.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $756.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.88 million. Spire had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 8.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be given a $0.755 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.92%. Spire’s payout ratio is 81.40%.

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.