Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Spire were worth $240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Spire by 26.8% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Spire by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 4.5% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 8.9% in the first quarter. Burney Co. now owns 3,866 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in Spire by 1.8% during the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 18,365 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,127,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Spire news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was 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 $473,899.02. The trade was a 6.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Spire Stock Performance

NYSE SR opened at $68.19 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $65.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.59. Spire Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.36 and a fifty-two week high of $68.35. The company has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.48.

Spire Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $3.14 per share. This is a boost from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 18.42%. Spire’s payout ratio is 72.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on SR. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Spire from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Spire currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.19.

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.