C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors Makes New Investment in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 3,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,292 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,105,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,132,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of Spire by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,406 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $73.61 per share, with a total value of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $178,504.25. This represents a 70.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $174,544.89. This represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SR has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Mizuho raised Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.50.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of SR opened at $73.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.50. Spire Inc. has a one year low of $57.27 and a one year high of $74.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $68.98 and its 200-day moving average is $67.22.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. Equities analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.03%.

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.