Spire (NYSE:SR) Price Target Cut to $75.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Spire (NYSE:SR) had its price target lowered by Morgan Stanley from $77.00 to $75.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Spire from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.06.

Spire Trading Up 1.2 %

SR opened at $73.39 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $65.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.87. The company has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.95, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.52. Spire has a 52 week low of $56.36 and a 52 week high of $73.52.

Spire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $3.14 per share. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 17.11%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This is a positive change from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Spire by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,626,863 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $345,321,000 after purchasing an additional 65,486 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Spire by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,154,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $214,535,000 after acquiring an additional 44,969 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 worth $93,244,000 after buying an additional 71,798 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 8.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 944,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,351,000 after purchasing an additional 72,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Spire by 4.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 805,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,231,000 after acquiring an additional 36,214 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.