Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases New Stake in Spire Inc. $SR

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 8,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $636,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SR. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Spire in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,631,000. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in Spire by 20.9% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 87,825 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,683,000 after acquiring an additional 15,189 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Spire in the third quarter worth approximately $5,226,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Spire by 104.7% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 45,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,098,000 after acquiring an additional 23,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Spire by 15.7% during the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 60,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,720,000 after acquiring an additional 8,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Price Performance

Spire stock opened at $88.77 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.37. Spire Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.84 and a 1 year high of $95.31. The company has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on SR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Spire from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Spire from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Spire from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Spire from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $79.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.91.

Spire Company Profile

Spire Inc is a natural gas utility holding company that distributes natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Its regulated utility operations serve customers in Missouri, Alabama and Mississippi.

In addition to its utility businesses, Spire operates natural gas marketing and midstream businesses. These activities include marketing natural gas and developing and operating infrastructure that supports its delivery.

The company traces its roots to Laclede Gas, founded in St.