Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Shares Sold by Connable Office Inc.

Connable Office Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 22.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,367 shares during the period. Connable Office Inc.’s holdings in Spire were worth $321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Spire in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co increased its stake in shares of Spire by 28.6% during the third quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR stock opened at $65.96 on Friday. Spire Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.36 and a fifty-two week high of $68.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $65.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.86, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.52.

Spire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $3.14 per share. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 19.04%. This is an increase from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Spire

In related news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total value of $32,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,899.02. The trade was a 6.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.86% 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.