Spire (NYSE:SR) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $75.12 and last traded at $75.23, with a volume of 134103 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $73.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on SR. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Spire in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Mizuho raised Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Spire presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.50.

Spire Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.58.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its 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 return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 9.70%. As a group, research analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.18%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.03%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Spire

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,168,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $418,390,000 after purchasing an additional 46,434 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Spire by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,154,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $214,535,000 after acquiring an additional 44,969 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 71,798 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Spire by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,022,870 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,381,000 after acquiring an additional 229,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Spire by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,002,938 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,028,000 after acquiring an additional 15,835 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Company Profile

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.