Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Receives $66.19 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $66.19.

SR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut Spire from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Spire from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th.

Spire Trading Down 1.0 %

Spire stock traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $63.86. The stock had a trading volume of 395,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 417,957. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.52. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $65.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Spire has a one year low of $54.69 and a one year high of $68.02.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maria V. Fogarty sold 6,590 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director now owns 9,800 shares in the company, valued at $638,470. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of Spire stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,899.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Maria V. Fogarty sold 6,590 shares of Spire stock in a transaction 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 owns 9,800 shares in the company, valued at $638,470. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.86% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Spire

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Spire during the second quarter worth $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the first quarter valued at $37,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the first quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 161 shares during the period. 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.