Key Points
- Spire SVP Ryan Hyman sold 3,822 shares on June 9 at an average price of $80.51, totaling about $307,709. After the sale, he still owned 14,295 shares, down 21.1% from before.
- Spire recently reported mixed quarterly results: earnings of $3.76 per share beat estimates, while revenue of $1.02 billion came in below expectations. Revenue still rose 4.5% year over year, and analysts expect full-year EPS of 4.01.
- The company reaffirmed its dividend appeal with a quarterly payout of $0.825 per share, implying an annualized dividend of $3.30 and a yield of 4.1%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is about 58%.
Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) SVP Ryan Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total value of $307,709.22. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,150,890.45. This represents a 21.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.
Spire Stock Up 0.3%
Shares of Spire stock opened at $80.53 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $87.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.03. The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Spire Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.24 and a 1 year high of $95.31.
Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Spire had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 13.97%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.60 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Spire Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.00%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SR. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Spire by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 212,438 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $16,623,000 after purchasing an additional 19,373 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Spire in the 1st quarter valued at $9,636,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Spire by 1,031.5% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 611 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Spire by 75.8% in the 2nd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 4,658 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Spire by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 585,919 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,766,000 after purchasing an additional 8,726 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Spire from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. TD Cowen started coverage on Spire in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a "hold" rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $96.00 price target on Spire in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.22.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Spire
Spire Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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