Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Shares Bought by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 646,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,681 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 1.12% of Spire worth $43,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Spire during the second quarter worth $31,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Spire in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Spire in the 1st quarter worth about $47,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Spire by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Stock Up 1.8 %

SR stock opened at $68.19 on Tuesday. Spire Inc. has a one year low of $56.36 and a one year high of $68.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $65.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.48.

Spire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $3.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This is a boost from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 18.42%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Spire from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.19.

Insider Activity at Spire

In related news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total value of $32,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,899.02. This trade represents a 6.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.