Connable Office Inc. Sells 275 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Connable Office Inc. reduced its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 275 shares during the quarter. Connable Office Inc.’s holdings in Spire were worth $305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Creative Planning lifted its position in Spire by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Spire by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Spire by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 6,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $453,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Spire by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,756 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $800,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Spire during the 3rd quarter worth about $206,000. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Spire Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of SR opened at $76.90 on Friday. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.27 and a 52 week high of $76.96. The firm has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.50.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. Spire’s payout ratio is presently 76.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Spire from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $178,504.25. This trade represents a 70.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total transaction of $77,590.50. Following the transaction, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $174,544.89. The trade was a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

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.