Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Trims Holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 30.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 195,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 84,904 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.34% of Spire worth $13,295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Spire by 87.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Spire by 1,318.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Spire during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SR. Mizuho boosted their price target on Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $72.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Spire Price Performance

NYSE SR opened at $78.18 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $74.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.61. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.27 and a 52 week high of $78.83. The stock has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. Analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire’s dividend 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.