Connable Office Inc. Has $321,000 Stock Position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Connable Office Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,367 shares during the quarter. Connable Office Inc.’s holdings in Spire were worth $321,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SR. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Spire by 1.4% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 105,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 63,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,926,000 after acquiring an additional 4,271 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Spire by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,626,863 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $345,321,000 after acquiring an additional 65,486 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in Spire in the first quarter valued at about $4,488,000. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in Spire by 1.8% in the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 18,365 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,127,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of SR opened at $65.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $65.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.51. Spire Inc. has a 52-week low of $56.36 and a 52-week high of $68.02.

Spire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $3.14 dividend. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 19.04%. This is a boost from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Spire’s payout ratio is currently 72.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of Spire stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 7,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,899.02. This trade represents a 6.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Spire Company 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.