Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 5,863 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 40.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,863 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Spire were worth $584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Spire in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,228,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,277,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Spire by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,244,000 after buying an additional 71,798 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 127.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 109,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,360,000 after purchasing an additional 61,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Spire in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,067,000. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on SR. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on Spire in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Spire currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.50.

Spire Stock Up 0.6 %

SR opened at $71.37 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $69.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Spire Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.99 and a 12 month high of $73.64.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.40%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.85%.

Insider Activity at Spire

In other news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of Spire stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $178,504.25. The trade was a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $174,544.89. This represents a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.