Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Sells 128,654 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,223,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 128,654 shares during the period. Spire accounts for about 0.8% of Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned 5.52% of Spire worth $218,627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Spire by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,863,000 after purchasing an additional 4,574 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP lifted its position in Spire by 140.1% in the fourth quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 27,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,898,000 after purchasing an additional 16,331 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Spire by 94.7% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 35,065 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599 shares during the period. Finally, Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. bought a new position in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,100,000. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Spire stock opened at $77.81 on Wednesday. Spire Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.77 and a 1 year high of $79.81. The firm has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of $76.19 and a 200 day moving average of $70.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.785 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Spire from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Spire from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Spire from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.70.

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.