Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Shares Sold by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 44.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,852 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Spire were worth $407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in Spire by 2.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Missouri Trust & Investment Co increased its holdings in Spire by 28.6% in the third quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Spire by 87.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Mizuho raised shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spire currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $73.61 per share, with a total value of $73,610.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $178,504.25. This trade represents a 70.18 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at $174,544.89. This represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Spire Trading Up 0.3 %

SR opened at $69.62 on Friday. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.36 and a 52 week high of $73.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.56. The firm has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.57.

Spire Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were given a $3.14 dividend. This is an increase from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 18.04%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. Spire’s payout ratio is currently 72.85%.

Spire Profile

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.