Verition Fund Management LLC Raises Holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 46.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,806 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,130 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Spire were worth $660,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Spire in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Spire by 1,318.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Spire by 26.8% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Spire

In other news, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the completion of 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Spire Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE SR opened at $70.10 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $67.07 and a 200 day moving average of $64.71. The company has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Spire Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.36 and a 1 year high of $73.64.

Spire Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $3.14 per share. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 17.92%. This is a positive change from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Spire from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.93.

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.