California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 8,755 Shares of Spire Inc. $SR

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 152,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,755 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.26% of Spire worth $13,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Spire by 158.1% during the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,990,000 after purchasing an additional 612,500 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Spire in the 4th quarter worth about $46,226,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 44.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 846,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,987,000 after acquiring an additional 260,344 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Spire by 40.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 647,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,560,000 after acquiring an additional 185,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, South Street Advisors LLC bought a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter valued at about $15,213,000. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Spire Price Performance

SR stock opened at $83.17 on Friday. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.24 and a 12-month high of $95.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $81.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.04. 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 (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.04. Spire had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. Spire’s payout ratio is currently 58.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 2,000 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $85.81 per share, with a total value of $171,620.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $600,670. The trade was a 40.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 21.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders bought 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $251,100. Company insiders own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BTIG Research set a $101.00 price target on Spire in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Spire from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.50.

Spire Profile

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.