Spire (NYSE:SR) Price Target Raised to $65.00 at Mizuho

Spire (NYSE:SR - Free Report) had its target price raised by Mizuho from $62.00 to $65.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the utilities provider's stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Spire from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered Spire from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Spire presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.56.

Spire Trading Down 0.4 %

SR traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.93. 457,650 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 415,404. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $65.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.63. Spire has a 1-year low of $56.36 and a 1-year high of $68.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.52.

Spire Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $3.14 dividend. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 18.49%. This is a positive change from Spire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Spire's payout ratio is presently 72.60%.

Insider Activity at Spire

In other Spire news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total transaction of $32,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,899.02. The trade was a 6.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,626,863 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $345,321,000 after buying an additional 65,486 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,154,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $214,535,000 after buying an additional 44,969 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $93,244,000 after buying an additional 71,798 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 944,387 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,351,000 after buying an additional 72,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 805,932 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,231,000 after buying an additional 36,214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company's stock.

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.