Spire (NYSE:SR) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Spire (NYSE:SR - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

SR has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com raised Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Seven equities research 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Spire has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.00.

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Spire Stock Performance

NYSE SR traded down $1.10 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $76.31. 898,892 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 345,944. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $73.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.18. Spire has a 1 year low of $57.27 and a 1 year high of $78.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a P/E/G 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.

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

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.785 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.03%.

Institutional Trading of Spire

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Spire by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,168,221 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $418,390,000 after buying an additional 46,434 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Spire by 1.4% during 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 lifted its position 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 valued at $93,244,000 after acquiring an additional 71,798 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 229,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Spire by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,002,938 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $68,028,000 after purchasing an additional 15,835 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

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.