EP Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $220,000 Investment in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Spire during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Spire by 1,318.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Spire by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co increased its holdings in Spire by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of Spire stock opened at $67.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $67.24 and a 200 day moving average of $64.86. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $3.14 per share. This is an increase from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 18.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.85%.

Insider Activity at Spire

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $178,504.25. This represents a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Spire from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Spire currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.94.

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.