Bank & Trust Co Sells 491 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Bank & Trust Co lessened its holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 491 shares during the quarter. Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Spire were worth $596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 207,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,610,000 after purchasing an additional 7,936 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Spire by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 698,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,439,000 after purchasing an additional 69,020 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Spire by 5.2% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Spire during the second quarter worth about $2,116,000. Finally, Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the second quarter worth approximately $203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of SR stock traded down $0.10 on Tuesday, hitting $66.14. The stock had a trading volume of 48,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 289,208. 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 twelve month low of $56.36 and a twelve month high of $73.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $67.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.76. The firm has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.57.

Spire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th were paid a dividend of $3.14 per share. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 18.99%. This is a boost from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SR shares. StockNews.com downgraded Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.