Mizuho Issues Positive Forecast for Spire (NYSE:SR) Stock Price

Spire (NYSE:SR) had its price objective lifted by Mizuho from $62.00 to $65.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Spire from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.56.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of SR stock opened at $67.93 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Spire has a twelve month low of $56.36 and a twelve month high of $68.35. The company has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.63.

Spire Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $3.14 per share. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 18.49%. This is an increase from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.60%.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In other news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total transaction of $32,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,311 shares in the company, valued at $473,899.02. This trade represents a 6.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Spire by 1.2% during the first 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 grew its stake in Spire by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,154,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $214,535,000 after purchasing an additional 44,969 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Spire by 5.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,244,000 after purchasing an additional 71,798 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Spire by 8.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 944,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,351,000 after purchasing an additional 72,119 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Spire by 4.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 805,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,231,000 after purchasing an additional 36,214 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by 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.