Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Purchases Shares of 11,689 Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 11,689 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $787,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Spire by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 2.7% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,126 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Burney Co. increased its stake in Spire by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Burney Co. now owns 3,866 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 18,365 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,127,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 3.0% in the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 13,936 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $846,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total transaction of $32,410.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,899.02. This represents a 6.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on SR shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered Spire from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Spire from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.19.

Spire Stock Up 1.8 %

SR stock traded up $1.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $68.19. 540,164 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 415,214. The firm has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.52. Spire Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.36 and a 1-year high of $68.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.48. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $65.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.59.

Spire Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $3.14 per share. This is a boost from Spire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 18.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.60%.

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.