Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Director Acquires $73,610.00 in Stock

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 1,000 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $178,504.25. The trade was a 70.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of Spire stock traded down $0.79 on Monday, hitting $72.40. 334,232 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 413,562. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.52. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.36 and a 12-month high of $73.64.

Spire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $3.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 17.35%. This is a positive change from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Spire’s payout ratio is presently 72.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Spire in the second quarter worth approximately $2,233,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Spire during the 3rd quarter valued at about $787,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 197.4% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 162,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,850,000 after purchasing an additional 107,662 shares in the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,067,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Spire by 116.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 28,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 15,060 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho upped their target price on Spire from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.93.

Spire Company 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.