Csenge Advisory Group Has $1.05 Million Stock Holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Csenge Advisory Group lifted its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 90.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,522 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,386 shares during the quarter. Csenge Advisory Group's holdings in Spire were worth $1,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Spire by 5.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $93,244,000 after acquiring an additional 71,798 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire in the third quarter worth $787,000. Cynosure Group LLC bought a new stake in Spire in the third quarter worth $4,067,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Spire by 116.2% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 28,025 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 15,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP boosted its holdings in Spire by 175.5% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 15,637 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 9,962 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Spire

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $73.61 per share, with a total value of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $178,504.25. This trade represents a 70.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total transaction of $77,590.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at $174,544.89. This trade represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Spire Stock Performance

SR stock traded up $1.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $75.11. 454,867 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 377,864. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.27 and a 52 week high of $75.70. The business has a 50-day moving average of $69.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.58.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire's payout ratio is presently 76.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SR shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Spire from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Spire from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Spire has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.50.

Spire Company 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.