Sanctuary Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 7,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $575,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Spire during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Spire in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 1,318.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Spire by 38.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,057 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were 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 represents a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $73.61 per share, with a total value of $73,610.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at $178,504.25. This trade represents a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SR opened at $67.11 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.19. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.57. 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 12 month low of $56.36 and a 12 month high of $73.64.

Spire Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $3.14 dividend. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 18.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This is a boost from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Spire’s payout ratio is 72.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SR shares. Bank of America assumed coverage on Spire in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spire currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.50.

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.