Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 71,798 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 71,798 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.40% of Spire worth $93,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 26.8% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Spire by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $691,000 after acquiring an additional 1,375 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Spire by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 16,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Spire by 3.2% during the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 71,274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,328,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Spire by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 13,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $846,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. 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 report on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Spire has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.28.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,544.89. This trade represents a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $73.61 per share, with a total value of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Spire Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of SR opened at $65.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.57. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.36 and a 52 week high of $73.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $67.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Spire Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $3.14 dividend. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 19.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This is a positive change from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.85%.

Spire 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.