KBC Group NV Has $156,000 Stock Position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 48.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Spire were worth $156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Spire by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Spire by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 121,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,255,000 after acquiring an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its position in Spire by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 13,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $941,000 after acquiring an additional 3,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Spire by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $174,544.89. This represents a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $178,504.25. This represents a 70.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SR shares. Bank of America assumed coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.50.

Spire Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE SR opened at $72.39 on Friday. Spire Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.99 and a 1 year high of $73.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business’s 50-day moving average is $68.95 and its 200 day moving average is $66.98.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 9.52%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.785 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.85%.

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.