Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Shares Sold by Fruth Investment Management

Fruth Investment Management lowered its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Spire were worth $664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 5.2% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Spire by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its position in Spire by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Spire by 87.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Spire

In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 trade represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $73.61 per share, with a total value of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $178,504.25. This represents a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Spire Stock Performance

NYSE:SR opened at $71.28 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $68.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.95. Spire Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.99 and a fifty-two week high of $73.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.45.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 8.10%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire’s payout ratio is 72.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on SR. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho raised Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com cut Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 19th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.