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

Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $74.00.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SR. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note 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 note on Thursday, November 21st. Mizuho raised Spire from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut Spire from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity at Spire

In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of Spire stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $174,544.89. This trade represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Spire in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Spire by 87.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Spire during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Spire by 1,318.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Spire Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:SR traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $76.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 599,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 395,106. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.41. Spire has a 1 year low of $57.27 and a 1 year high of $78.80.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. Research analysts expect that Spire will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio is presently 76.03%.

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.