Arizona State Retirement System Sells 767 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Arizona State Retirement System decreased its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 767 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Spire were worth $917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Spire by 2.7% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Spire by 15.2% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Spire by 9.0% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 645 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Spire by 4.8% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 26,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its holdings in Spire by 13.0% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 61,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,635,000 after acquiring an additional 7,086 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In related news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total value of $75,220.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $393,423.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total value of $75,220.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $393,423.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total value of $73,223.82. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on SR. Mizuho decreased their price target on Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. UBS Group started coverage on Spire in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.25.

Spire Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE SR opened at $58.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $59.68 and its 200-day moving average is $59.78. Spire Inc. has a one year low of $53.77 and a one year high of $70.60.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $756.60 million for 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%. Spire’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.755 per share. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.40%.

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.