Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Shares Acquired by Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC

Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 850 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Spire were worth $525,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 944,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,351,000 after acquiring an additional 72,119 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Spire by 197.2% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 21,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,281,000 after purchasing an additional 14,000 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Spire by 75.3% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $888,000 after buying an additional 6,283 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 28.8% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 127,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,760,000 after buying an additional 28,602 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Spire by 290.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 130,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,877,000 after buying an additional 97,358 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:SR opened at $69.62 on Friday. Spire Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.36 and a 1-year high of $73.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $68.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.56.

Spire Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were given a $3.14 dividend. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 18.04%. This is a positive change from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is 72.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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 price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Spire presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 1,000 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was purchased 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 owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $178,504.25. This trade represents a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $174,544.89. The trade was a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.33% of the stock is currently 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.