Bessemer Group Inc. Has $27,000 Stock Holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 61.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 640 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Spire were worth $27,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 87.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Spire in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in Spire by 431.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SR opened at $77.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.76, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $76.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.67. Spire Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.77 and a twelve month high of $79.81.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share 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 analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. Spire’s payout ratio is 76.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on SR. StockNews.com upgraded Spire from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Spire from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Spire presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.70.

Spire 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.