State of Alaska Department of Revenue Has $446,000 Position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 145 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Spire were worth $446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Spire by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co boosted its stake in Spire by 28.6% in the third quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Spire by 87.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Spire by 4.5% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Spire Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of SR stock opened at $73.95 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $68.98 and a 200-day moving average of $67.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.58. Spire Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.27 and a 1-year high of $74.50.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 9.70%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.25%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SR. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com cut Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.50.

Spire Company 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.