Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. Has $489,000 Position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. cut its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,508 shares during the quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.’s holdings in Spire were worth $489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SR. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Spire by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Spire by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Spire by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Spire by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 26,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its position in Spire by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 61,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,635,000 after purchasing an additional 7,086 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR stock opened at $59.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $59.71 and a 200-day moving average of $59.77. The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 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. Spire Inc. has a one year low of $53.77 and a one year high of $70.60.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.10. Spire had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The business had revenue of $756.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.755 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.08%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Spire currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.