Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Shares Purchased by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 731,682 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 85,476 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 1.25% of Spire worth $49,630,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,228,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Spire during the 4th quarter valued at $8,277,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Spire by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 778,442 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $52,802,000 after acquiring an additional 106,386 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Spire by 5.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $93,244,000 after purchasing an additional 71,798 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Spire by 127.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 109,372 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,360,000 after purchasing an additional 61,357 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Spire from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Thursday. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.00.

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Spire Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:SR traded up $0.57 on Monday, reaching $76.98. The company had a trading volume of 370,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 346,041. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Spire Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.27 and a 52-week high of $78.83. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $73.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.20.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. As a group, analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.03%.

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.