Spire (NYSE:SR) Lifted to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Spire from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho downgraded shares of Spire from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their target price for the company from $64.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group assumed coverage on Spire in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a buy rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, April 26th. They set a neutral rating and a $57.50 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Spire has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $61.72.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $61.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 472,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 494,058. Spire has a 52-week low of $53.77 and a 52-week high of $69.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.12.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.86 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. Spire had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 9.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Spire will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.755 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $3.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.94%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In other news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total value of $75,220.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,768 shares in the company, valued at $393,423.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total value of $73,223.82. Following the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total value of $75,220.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,768 shares in the company, valued at $393,423.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Spire

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Spire in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Spire by 81.9% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Spire by 206.6% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279 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.