South Street Advisors LLC Takes $15.21 Million Position in Spire Inc. $SR

South Street Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 183,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $15,213,000. Spire makes up about 2.1% of South Street Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in Spire in the third quarter worth $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Optima Capital LLC bought a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Spire by 186.8% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Spire in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of SR opened at $83.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Spire Inc. has a twelve month low of $71.24 and a twelve month high of $95.31. The company has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $89.65 and a 200 day moving average of $87.43.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Spire had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.49%. Spire’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.00%.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In related news, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $85.81 per share, for a total transaction of $171,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $600,670. This represents a 40.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on SR. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $96.00 price target on shares of Spire in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.22.

Spire Company 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.