Insider Selling: Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Treasurer Sells 1,150 Shares of Stock

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at $174,544.89. This trade represents a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Spire Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of SR traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $67.89. 560,198 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 410,124. The stock's 50-day moving average is $67.24 and its 200-day moving average is $64.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.45. Spire Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.36 and a fifty-two week high of $73.64. The company has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.57.

Spire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $3.14 dividend. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 18.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This is a boost from Spire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Spire in the third quarter valued at $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Spire by 1,318.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co lifted its stake in Spire by 28.6% in the third quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SR. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Spire from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut Spire from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Spire from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $69.94.

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.