Csenge Advisory Group Purchases 775 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Csenge Advisory Group lifted its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 14.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 775 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Spire were worth $381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SR. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the first quarter worth about $37,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Spire by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Spire by 30.2% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Spire during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $159,000. Finally, Strs Ohio boosted its position in Spire by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $180,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on SR shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Spire from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Mizuho cut Spire from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. UBS Group assumed coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, April 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $57.50 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.83.

Spire Stock Up 3.5 %

SR stock traded up $2.11 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $61.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 131,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 436,157. The company has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a PE ratio of 15.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.51. Spire Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.77 and a 12 month high of $66.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.34 and its 200-day moving average is $60.20.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.86 by ($0.41). The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Spire had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The business’s revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th were paid a dividend of $0.755 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.88%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In related news, EVP Steven P. Rasche bought 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.83 per share, for a total transaction of $107,235.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 16,500 shares in the company, valued at $393,195. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

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.