Spire (NYSE:SR) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $76.80 and last traded at $76.43, with a volume of 529215 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $75.64.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SR. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

Spire Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.82.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.785 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. Spire’s payout ratio is currently 76.03%.

Insider Activity

In other Spire news, 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 acquired 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 in the company, valued at $178,504.25. This represents a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total transaction of $77,590.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,544.89. This trade represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Spire by 5.5% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in Spire during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $787,000. Cynosure Group LLC bought a new position in Spire during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,067,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Spire by 116.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 28,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 15,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP raised its holdings in Spire by 175.5% during the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 15,637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 9,962 shares during the last quarter. 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.