Tortoise Index Solutions LLC Buys 5,001 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Tortoise Index Solutions LLC raised its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,001 shares during the quarter. Spire makes up about 1.2% of Tortoise Index Solutions LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Tortoise Index Solutions LLC owned 0.19% of Spire worth $6,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SR. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Spire by 4.5% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 119,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,758,000 after buying an additional 5,100 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire in the third quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Spire by 5.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 648,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,713,000 after buying an additional 33,153 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire in the third quarter valued at approximately $291,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Spire by 25.7% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 1,353 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Spire Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:SR traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 46,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 445,630. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.12, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $60.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.71. Spire Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.77 and a fifty-two week high of $66.58.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $3.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by ($0.41). Spire had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 9.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.70 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.755 per share. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho cut Spire from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $62.00 in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Spire from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Spire from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.