James Investment Research Inc. Sells 3,525 Shares of Spire Inc. (SR)

James Investment Research Inc. lowered its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 60.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Spire by 1.3% in the first quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 236,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,944,000 after buying an additional 2,958 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Spire by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC now owns 80,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,185,000 after buying an additional 9,020 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Spire by 15.4% in the first quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 17,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,212,000 after buying an additional 2,396 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $342,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Spire by 34.2% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. 78.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE SR) traded up 0.13% on Friday, hitting $75.85. The stock had a trading volume of 126,311 shares. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $59.54 and a 52 week high of $76.80. The company has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a 50-day moving average of $72.50 and a 200 day moving average of $69.10.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.05. Spire had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 8.77%. The business had revenue of $323.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $293.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.33 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post $3.57 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 8th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.17%.

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A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Spire from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Investment Research downgraded Spire from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Spire presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.43.

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.