Spire (NYSE:SR - Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Guggenheim from $67.00 to $72.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider's stock.
SR has been the subject of a number of other reports. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Spire from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.64.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Spire
Spire Stock Down 4.0 %
Shares of Spire stock traded down $3.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $75.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 718,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 382,154. The company has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $75.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.98. Spire has a one year low of $57.27 and a one year high of $79.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.50.
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 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Spire will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.
Spire Cuts Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.03%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Spire in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Spire by 87.2% in 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. purchased a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in Spire by 431.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 627 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.
About Spire
(
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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.
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