Spire Inc. (SR) Shares Sold by James Investment Research Inc.

James Investment Research Inc. decreased its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 60.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,525 shares during the period. James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings in Spire were worth $158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SR. Teachers Advisors LLC boosted its position in Spire by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC now owns 80,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,185,000 after buying an additional 9,020 shares during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Spire by 15.4% in the first quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 17,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,212,000 after buying an additional 2,396 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in Spire by 2.0% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 5,070 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Spire by 34.2% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Spire by 22.3% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,356 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 975 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.23% of the company’s stock.

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) opened at 71.75 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $70.61 and its 200 day moving average is $67.82. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $59.54 and a 12-month high of $72.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 21.91 and a beta of 0.33.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.01. Spire had a net margin of 8.87% and a return on equity of 8.66%. The company had revenue of $663.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $662.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post $3.53 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 8th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is 64.02%.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SR shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Spire from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $77.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Spire has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.80.

About Spire

Spire Inc, formerly The Laclede Group, Inc, is engaged to transform its business and pursue growth by growing its gas utility business through prudent investment in infrastructure upgrades and organic growth initiatives; acquire and integrate gas utilities; modernize its gas assets, and invest in innovation.