Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Shares Sold by Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 8.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 187,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 16,482 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.32% of Spire worth $12,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Spire by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 31,218 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,916,000 after buying an additional 2,070 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in Spire by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 58,063 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,563,000 after buying an additional 6,284 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Spire by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,707 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,015,000 after buying an additional 1,085 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its holdings in Spire by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 7,363 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 1,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Spire during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,233,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Stock Performance

Spire stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.80. 377,822 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 412,792. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.36 and a 12-month high of $73.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.57. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $66.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.45.

Spire Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $3.14 dividend. This is an increase from Spire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 17.49%. Spire's payout ratio is presently 70.07%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 1,000 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of Spire from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Spire from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Spire currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $69.93.

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.