Spire (NYSE:SR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective 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. Mizuho raised shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Spire currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.50.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SR opened at $72.39 on Thursday. Spire has a twelve month low of $56.99 and a twelve month high of $73.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $68.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.98.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 8.10%. As a group, analysts expect that Spire will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued 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 yield of 4.34%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Spire by 5.2% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its position in Spire by 2.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Missouri Trust & Investment Co boosted its position in Spire by 28.6% during the third quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Spire by 87.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Spire by 4.5% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. 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.