8,364 Shares of Spire Inc. $SR Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 8,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $636,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SR. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Spire in the 2nd quarter valued at about $667,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Spire by 1.4% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 667,616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,134,000 after purchasing an additional 8,927 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Spire during the second quarter worth about $45,993,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Spire by 0.4% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 479,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Spire by 1.6% during the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 402,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,422,000 after purchasing an additional 6,505 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spire Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:SR opened at $88.77 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $81.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.68. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.84 and a 12-month high of $95.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on SR shares. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Spire from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $79.00 target price on the stock. Huntington started coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Monday, September 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Spire from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.91.

Spire Profile

Spire Inc is a natural gas utility holding company that distributes natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Its regulated utility operations serve customers in Missouri, Alabama and Mississippi.

In addition to its utility businesses, Spire operates natural gas marketing and midstream businesses. These activities include marketing natural gas and developing and operating infrastructure that supports its delivery.

The company traces its roots to Laclede Gas, founded in St.