Spire (NYSE:SR) Price Target Raised to $73.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $73.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target would suggest a potential upside of 9.28% from the stock's previous close.

SR has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.81.

Spire Stock Performance

Spire stock traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $66.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 315,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 413,545. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.82. Spire has a 1-year low of $54.15 and a 1-year high of $68.02. The company has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.04. Spire had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 9.40%. The firm had revenue of $414.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $313.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.42) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Spire will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maria V. Fogarty sold 6,590 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.15, for a total transaction of $429,338.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $638,470. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 7,311 shares in the company, valued at $473,899.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maria V. Fogarty sold 6,590 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.15, for a total value of $429,338.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $638,470. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Spire during the second quarter worth $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Spire during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Spire during the first quarter worth about $37,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Spire in the first quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Spire by 26.8% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.