Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the nine analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $71.50.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SR. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded Spire from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on Spire in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In related news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total transaction of $77,590.50. Following the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at $174,544.89. This trade represents a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was bought 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Spire by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,168,221 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $418,390,000 after acquiring an additional 46,434 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Spire by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,154,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $214,535,000 after buying an additional 44,969 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $93,244,000 after acquiring an additional 71,798 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Spire by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 834,647 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $56,614,000 after acquiring an additional 28,715 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Spire by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 778,442 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $52,802,000 after purchasing an additional 106,386 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SR traded up $0.98 during trading on Friday, hitting $72.86. 289,448 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 377,457. Spire has a one year low of $56.99 and a one year high of $73.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business's fifty day moving average is $68.88 and its 200-day moving average is $67.10.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Spire will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.03%.

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.