On September 10, 2023, it was reported that Krane Funds Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 64.3% during the first quarter. According to the company’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the institutional investor now holds 3,161 shares of Spire’s stock after selling 5,694 shares during the period. The value of Krane Funds Advisors LLC’s holdings in Spire stood at $225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Spire Inc., a utilities provider, recently announced its quarterly earnings data on August 2nd. In this report, the company revealed an earnings per share (EPS) figure of ($0.42) for the quarter, falling short of analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by a significant margin of ($0.40). Although Spire generated revenue amounting to $418.50 million for the quarter, it fell below analysts’ expectations of $428.86 million. This decline in revenue reflects a decrease of 6.6% as compared to the same period last year when Spire posted $0.01 EPS.
The research community has taken notice of these recent developments surrounding Spire Inc., with a number of research firms issuing their own reports on SR stock in response. For instance, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Spire from $71.00 to $64.00 in a research report published on August 3rd, while Guggenheim also lowered their price target from $69.00 to $65.00 in a report released on July 7th. Furthermore, TheStreet downgraded its rating for Spire from “b” to “c+” following the release of its quarterly earnings report on August 2nd.
Stifel Nicolaus also revised their price objective downwards from $75.00 to $72.00, as reflected in a research report published on May 18th. Additionally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Spire on August 17th and assigned a “sell” rating to the stock. Currently, two investment analysts have rated the stock as a sell, while seven others have given it a hold rating. The average rating for Spire Inc., based on data from Bloomberg, is currently classified as “Hold” with an average target price of $67.25.
In conclusion, the recent reduction in stake by Krane Funds Advisors LLC and the lower-than-expected earnings per share for the quarter have influenced research firms to revise their price targets and ratings for Spire Inc. As investors continue to monitor future developments in the utilities sector, it remains to be seen how Spire will perform in terms of its fiscal year’s earnings per share and whether it will be able to regain investor confidence moving forward.
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Institutional Investors Modify Holdings in Spire Inc. as Stock Performance and Insider Trading Gain Attention
[stock_market_widget type=”chart” template=”basic” color=”#3946CE” assets=”AAPL” range=”1mo” interval=”1d” axes=”true” cursor=”true” range_selector=”true” api=”yf”]Spire Inc., a utilities provider, has recently seen a number of large investors modify their holdings in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its ownership by 6.0% during the 4th quarter and now holds 7,642,947 shares valued at $526,293,000. BlackRock Inc. also increased its position by 2.0% during the 1st quarter and now owns 6,755,246 shares worth $473,813,000. Vanguard Group Inc., on the other hand, grew its position by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter and currently owns 5,411,808 shares valued at $337,318,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC displayed an astonishing growth in its position by an astounding 70,596.2% during the 4th quarter with 4,264,392 shares valued at $293,646,000 coming into its possession. State Street Corp joined the trend and grew its position by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter to hold 2,350,580 shares worth $148,082,000.
All of these changes in ownership have resulted in hedge funds and other institutional investors owning approximately 87.36% of Spire’s stock.
As for Spire’s stock performance on September 10th itself (as per reference date), it opened at $58.95 on Friday on NYSE SR. The company maintains a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.56 while having a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock’s lowest point in the past year stands at $57.28 with a peak at $75.83.
Analyzing further metrics reveals that Spire has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion along with a PE (price to earnings) ratio of 13.68 and a PEG (price to earnings growth) ratio of 3.37. Its beta is deemed to be 0.49. In terms of moving averages, the stock holds a 50-day moving average of $61.26 and a 200-day moving average of $65.53.
Several research firms have provided their assessments on SR lately as well. Wells Fargo & Company, for instance, reduced its price target from $71.00 to $64.00 in one of its reports while Guggenheim lowered its price target from $69.00 to $65.00 in another report. Furthermore, TheStreet downgraded Spire’s rating from “b” to “c+” in a research report on August 2nd and Stifel Nicolaus also cut their price objective on the stock from $75.00 to $72.00 in May 2018.
It is worth noting that StockNews.com initiated coverage on Spire with a “sell” rating attached to it as well.
Moreover, Spire declared a quarterly dividend which will be paid out on October 3rd this year to stockholders of record as of September 11th. The dividend per share is set at $0.72 which represents an annualized dividend yield of 4.89%. Those holding shares as of the ex-dividend date on September 8th will not be eligible for this payment.
In recent news regarding insider trading, EVP Steven P. Rasche purchased 3,100 shares of Spire’s stock at an average price per share of $30.82 amounting to a total transaction value of $95,542 on September 7th this year.
Additionally, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard acquired 1,000 shares at an average price per share of $58.70 totaling a value around $58,700 on September 1st this year.
Ownership-wise, following his recent purchase, EVP Steven P. Rasche now directly holds 34,665 shares of Spire’s stock valued at $1,068,375.30. Furthermore, insiders in total have acquired 9,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,592 over the last quarter.
Overall, despite these acquisitions by insiders, the average rating for Spire stands at “Hold” according to data from Bloomberg with an average target price of $67.25.
To conclude, Spire Inc., a utilities provider on NYSE SR has witnessed modifications in holdings by significant institutional investors and experienced fluctuations in its stock performance. With a range of research reports analyzing its potential and insider trading activities occurring recently, there is increased attention surrounding the company’s trajectory moving forward.
