Inspire Advisors LLC Sells 508 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Inspire Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 28,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 508 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Spire were worth $1,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SR. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Spire in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Spire by 87.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Spire by 1,318.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the transaction, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,544.89. This represents a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Spire Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of SR opened at $75.92 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.27 and a 12-month high of $78.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 18.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.54.

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

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire’s payout ratio is 76.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on SR shares. UBS Group upped 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 began coverage on Spire in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho upgraded Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Spire in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

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.