Vestcor Inc Takes Position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,228,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter worth $8,277,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Spire by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 778,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,802,000 after purchasing an additional 106,386 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Spire by 5.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,244,000 after buying an additional 71,798 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 127.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 109,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,360,000 after buying an additional 61,357 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SR. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Spire from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Spire currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

Spire Trading Up 0.2 %

Spire stock opened at $76.26 on Tuesday. Spire Inc. has a one year low of $57.27 and a one year high of $78.80. The business’s fifty day moving average is $72.49 and its 200 day moving average is $68.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its 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 net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.03%.

About Spire

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.