Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Receives $70.28 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $71.50.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Mizuho raised shares of Spire from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Spire from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th.

Spire Stock Performance

NYSE:SR traded up $1.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $66.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,308,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 413,476. The stock has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.45. Spire has a 12-month low of $56.36 and a 12-month high of $73.64.

Spire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $3.14 dividend. This is a positive change from Spire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 18.83%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In related news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $178,504.25. The trade was a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $174,544.89. This represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.86% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $787,000. Cynosure Group LLC purchased a new position in Spire in the 3rd quarter worth $4,067,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Spire by 5.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $93,244,000 after purchasing an additional 71,798 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Spire by 116.2% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 28,025 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,886,000 after buying an additional 15,060 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its stake in shares of Spire by 12.4% during the second quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 288,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $17,511,000 after buying an additional 31,923 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.