Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Invests $787,000 in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 11,689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $787,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the 3rd quarter valued at $206,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Spire by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,756 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $800,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Spire by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 6,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Spire by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Detalus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Spire during the 3rd quarter valued at $372,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In other 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 directly owns 7,311 shares in the company, valued at $473,899.02. This represents a 6.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SR opened at $67.01 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $65.49 and its 200 day moving average is $63.57. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.52. Spire Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.36 and a fifty-two week high of $68.02.

Spire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $3.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This is an increase from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 18.74%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is 72.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on SR shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Spire from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Spire presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.19.

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.