Entropy Technologies LP Increases Position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Entropy Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 175.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,637 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 9,962 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in Spire were worth $1,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SR. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Spire during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Spire by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Spire in the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Spire by 6,551.6% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,062 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 2,031 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on SR. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Spire from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded Spire from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $66.19.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of Spire stock traded up $0.27 during trading on Thursday, reaching $65.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 319,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 415,023. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.36 and a 12-month high of $68.02. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $65.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.51. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.52.

Spire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $3.14 per share. This is an increase from Spire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 19.04%. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.60%.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In other Spire news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of Spire stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total value of $32,410.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,311 shares in the company, valued at $473,899.02. This trade represents a 6.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.86% of the company's stock.

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.