Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 87.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Spire were worth $30,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Spire during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co boosted its position in shares of Spire by 28.6% during the third quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Spire by 38.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,057 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Spire by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $178,504.25. This trade represents a 70.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total transaction of $77,590.50. Following the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $174,544.89. The trade was a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on SR shares. Mizuho raised Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Spire from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.50.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SR opened at $67.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Spire Inc. has a one year low of $56.36 and a one year high of $73.64. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $68.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.06. The company has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.57.

Spire Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were issued a dividend of $3.14 per share. This is a positive change from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 18.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.85%.

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.