Morgan Stanley Boosts Spire (NYSE:SR) Price Target to $78.00

Spire (NYSE:SR - Free Report) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $75.00 to $78.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider's stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Spire from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $72.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group upped their target price 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. Mizuho boosted their target price on Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com raised Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.00.

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Spire Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE SR traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $76.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 116,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 345,044. Spire has a twelve month low of $57.27 and a twelve month high of $78.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $73.30 and a 200 day moving average of $69.20.

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

Spire Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.785 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.03%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Spire during the 4th quarter worth about $42,432,000. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Spire during the third quarter worth about $39,228,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in Spire during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,083,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Spire by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,022,870 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $69,381,000 after purchasing an additional 229,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sourcerock Group LLC bought a new position in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,567,000. 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.