Van ECK Associates Corp Has $1.11 Million Stock Position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,292 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Spire were worth $1,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Spire during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,228,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Spire during the 4th quarter worth about $8,277,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Spire by 127.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 109,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,360,000 after buying an additional 61,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC bought a new stake in Spire during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,067,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the company’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 transaction of $77,590.50. Following the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,544.89. This trade represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Spire Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of SR opened at $75.11 on Friday. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.27 and a 52 week high of $75.70. The firm has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.50.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. On average, analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.18%. Spire’s payout ratio is presently 76.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho raised shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.50.

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.