Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Holdings Boosted by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 460,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,109 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Spire were worth $31,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in Spire in the fourth quarter worth about $361,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 85,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,787,000 after buying an additional 10,659 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 268,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,216,000 after buying an additional 11,738 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $302,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 113,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,702,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Trading Up 0.2 %

Spire stock opened at $76.42 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. Spire Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.27 and a 1 year high of $78.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $72.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.97.

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

Spire Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Spire from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

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.