Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $11.45 Million Stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 170,211 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 23,097 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.29% of Spire worth $11,453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Spire in the first quarter worth $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the first quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Spire by 6,551.6% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 2,031 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SR. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Spire from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.19.

Spire Stock Up 1.7 %

SR stock opened at $67.01 on Monday. 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11, a PEG 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.49 and a 200-day moving average of $63.57.

Spire Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Spire news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total value of $32,410.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,899.02. This trade represents a 6.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.