Inceptionr LLC acquired a new position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 7,435 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $504,000.
Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 87.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms recently issued reports on SR. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Spire from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.00.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Spire
Insider Transactions at Spire
In other news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of Spire stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total transaction of $77,590.50. Following the transaction, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $174,544.89. The trade was a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.33% of the company's stock.
Spire Price Performance
NYSE:SR traded down $0.27 on Wednesday, hitting $75.09. The company had a trading volume of 376,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 398,595. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.27 and a 52 week high of $78.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $71.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.61.
Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.
Spire Cuts Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.03%.
About Spire
(
Free Report)
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.
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