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

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 646,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,681 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Spire were worth $43,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Spire by 5.2% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Spire by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Spire news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total transaction of $32,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,899.02. This represents a 6.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Spire Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Spire stock opened at $68.19 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $65.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.59. Spire Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.36 and a 1 year high of $68.35. 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 capitalization of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.52.

Spire Increases Dividend

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

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.