Spire (SR) Expected to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) is expected to announce its earnings results before the market opens on Wednesday, February 5th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.42 per share and revenue of $764.39 million for the quarter. Parties that are interested in registering for the company's conference call can do so using this link.

Spire Stock Performance

Spire stock traded down $1.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 325,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 335,390. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $69.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.45. Spire has a 12-month low of $56.36 and a 12-month high of $73.64. The company has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.57.

Spire Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were given a dividend of $3.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 11th. This is a boost from Spire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 18.09%. Spire's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In related news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total transaction of $77,590.50. Following the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at $174,544.89. This trade represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $73.61 per share, with a total value of $73,610.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $178,504.25. The trade was a 70.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on SR shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Spire from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, January 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Mizuho raised Spire from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $65.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.50.

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.