Spire (NYSE:SR) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on SR. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Spire in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho upgraded Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America assumed coverage on Spire in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Spire Stock Performance

Spire stock opened at $76.42 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $72.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.37. Spire has a 12 month low of $57.27 and a 12 month high of $78.80.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 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%. Research analysts expect that Spire will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Spire by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Spire by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 193,065 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,096,000 after purchasing an additional 5,454 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter worth about $30,083,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd increased its stake in Spire by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 9,798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sourcerock Group LLC purchased a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter worth about $12,567,000. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.