Dean Investment Associates LLC Has $4.25 Million Stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Dean Investment Associates LLC reduced its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,172 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 46,285 shares during the period. Dean Investment Associates LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Spire worth $4,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SR. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Spire in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Spire by 1,318.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Spire by 26.8% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co grew its position in Spire by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of Spire stock traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $70.42. 171,153 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 339,962. Spire Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.36 and a 1 year high of $73.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $66.95 and a 200-day moving average of $64.57.

Spire Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $3.14 per share. This is a boost from Spire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 17.84%. Spire's payout ratio is presently 70.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $178,504.25. This represents a 70.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on Spire from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Spire from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Spire currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $69.93.

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.