Spire (NYSE:SR) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at Bank of America

Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Spire (NYSE:SR - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $70.00 target price on the utilities provider's stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded 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 report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Spire from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Spire currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $69.94.

Spire Trading Down 0.6 %

SR stock traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $67.67. The stock had a trading volume of 259,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 409,502. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $67.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.76. Spire has a 1-year low of $56.36 and a 1-year high of $73.64. The firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.57.

Spire Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $3.14 dividend. This is a boost from Spire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 18.56%. Spire's payout ratio is presently 72.85%.

Insider Activity at Spire

In other news, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $73.61 per share, with a total value of $73,610.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at $178,504.25. The trade was a 70.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SR. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Spire in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the second quarter worth $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Spire by 1,318.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co grew its stake in shares of Spire by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is 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.