Wealthfront Advisers LLC Invests $2.56 Million in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 37,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,561,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC owned 0.07% of Spire at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Spire by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,244,000 after acquiring an additional 71,798 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of Spire in the third quarter worth approximately $787,000. Cynosure Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Spire in the third quarter worth $4,067,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the 3rd quarter valued at $790,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Spire by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 805,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,231,000 after purchasing an additional 36,214 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SR. UBS Group increased their price target on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Spire from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America started coverage on Spire in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Spire in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.00.

Spire Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE SR opened at $76.13 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $72.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.77. Spire Inc. has a one year low of $57.27 and a one year high of $78.80. The company has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.50.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 9.70%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. Spire’s payout ratio is currently 76.03%.

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.