Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. Sells 1,508 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. decreased its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 15.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,508 shares during the quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.’s holdings in Spire were worth $489,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SR. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Spire by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,907 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $680,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354 shares during the period. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. bought a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at about $305,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its stake in Spire by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 4,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Strs Ohio increased its stake in Spire by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $180,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at about $923,000. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In other news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total transaction of $75,220.22. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,768 shares in the company, valued at $393,423.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total value of $73,223.82. Following the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $92,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total transaction of $75,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,768 shares in the company, valued at $393,423.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spire has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.25.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of Spire stock opened at $59.40 on Friday. Spire Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.77 and a 1-year high of $70.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $59.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.10. Spire had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The company had revenue of $756.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. Spire’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.755 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.08%. Spire’s payout ratio is 81.40%.

About Spire

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.