In the current economic climate, every move made by institutional investors is closely watched and analyzed. This became particularly apparent when Victory Capital Management Inc. recently announced that it had lifted its stake in shares of Spire Inc. by an impressive 298.8% in the fourth quarter, according to a recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Victory Capital Management Inc., a well-established institutional investor worth over $170 billion, now owns approximately 0.20% of Spire’s shares, which equates to around 102,909 shares after purchasing an additional 77,105 shares during the period. The total value of their investment is estimated at $7,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Spire (NYSE:SR) has long been known for providing natural gas services through its utility operations while also venturing into non-regulated activities. Its Gas Utility and Gas Marketing Business segments have served as its primary sources of revenue for years.
However, the company’s most recent quarterly earnings data announcement on May 3rd showed some promising developments. The utilities provider reported an impressive $3.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.21.
What’s more exciting is that Spire had a net margin of 9.69% and a return on equity of 9.75%, indicating that its operations are efficient despite facing numerous market challenges.
The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter compared to the consensus estimate of just $887.98 million – representing a massive increase from the same period last year- thus showcasing how robustly Spire’s business model functions even during difficult times.
With such positive results in hand, Equities analysts predict that Spire Inc.’s performance should remain steady throughout this fiscal year with anticipated recorded earnings per share expected to post 4.26.
The decision by Victory Capital Management Inc. to increase its stake in Spire at this particular moment is an astute move, given Spire’s impressive recent performance. Analysts predict that the institution’s financial gamble will most likely pay off, with the company poised for growth in the near future.
Overall, Spire continues to find new ways of solidifying its position in the industry through innovation and efficiency builds – thereby attracting savvy investors like Victory Capital Management Inc., who undoubtedly sees their potential for making a hefty return on investment. It seems that all signs point toward growth and expansion for both Spire and their institutional investor supporters. It’s almost as if they have been planning for this situation since the beginning of time!
Institutional Investors Boost Holdings in Gas Holding Company, Spire Inc.
Spire Inc. may not be a household name, but for institutional investors and hedge funds, the natural gas holding company is worth billions. On May 26, 2023, various institutional investors modified their holdings of Spire’s stock. State Street Corp and Invesco Ltd each boosted their position in Spire by over 30% during the first quarter, with ProShare Advisors LLC and Vanguard Group Inc also increasing their own holdings. Renaissance Technologies raised the bar even higher, expanding its ownership by nearly 3,000%, claiming a small portion of Spire’s total market capitalization of $3.45 billion.
While hedge funds and other institutional investors own almost all of the company’s stock (99.86%), share prices for NYSE:SR opened at $65.65 on Friday with a low of $61.52 and a high of $78.86 over the past year.
Despite this seemingly massive interest in Spire from investors around the world, it should come as no surprise that they are primarily interested in profiting from its natural gas utility operations without getting bogged down in non-regulated activities.
Breaking down the nuances of its core business, Spire operates through its Gas Utility and Gas Marketing Business segments; with this philosophy outlined along with several pieces of financial information including their quick ratio forexample ($64), debt-to-equity ratio (1.35), earnings per share (14) multiple designed to illustrate trends regarding both short-term growth rates and long-term financial sustainability.
One element drawing particular attention is Spire’s recent disclosure regarding a quarterly dividend payment distributed among shareholders on July 5th at $0.72 per share for those holding stocks as late as June 12th – providing an annualized yield/return of 4.39%. It is interesting to note that so far eight analysts have provided comments rating SR shares as ‘hold,’ which aligns well with the company’s consensus rating of ‘Hold’ and a majority’s consensus price target of $70.00, according to Bloomberg data.
Investors and stakeholders may be interested in monitoring Spire’s performance more closely as they navigate the natural gas utility market while seeking to maximize their returns over time.
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