18,089 Shares in Spire Inc. $SR Acquired by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 18,089 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in shares of Spire in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Optima Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Spire in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Spire during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $96.00 target price on shares of Spire in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.30.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $80.65. The company had a trading volume of 297,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 716,580. Spire Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.24 and a 12 month high of $95.31. The firm has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a fifty day moving average of $82.21 and a 200-day moving average of $86.13. 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 (NYSE:SR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.04. The firm 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Spire’s payout ratio is 58.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $78.46 per share, with a total value of $39,230.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $627,680. This represents a 6.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total transaction of $307,709.22. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,150,890.45. This represents a 21.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $251,100. 2.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.