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

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

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on SR. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Spire in a report on Friday, April 26th. They issued a neutral rating and a $57.50 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Spire from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho downgraded shares of Spire from a buy rating to a neutral rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a buy rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $61.72.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $61.17. The stock had a trading volume of 472,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 494,058. Spire has a fifty-two week low of $53.77 and a fifty-two week high of $69.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.12.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by ($0.41). Spire had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 9.05%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.70 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Spire will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.755 per share. This represents a $3.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total transaction of $75,220.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $393,423.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total transaction of $75,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $393,423.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total transaction of $73,223.82. Following the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SR. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Spire by 85.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 48,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 22,216 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Spire by 5.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 48.5% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Spire by 11.9% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares during the period. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Spire by 8.6% during the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 6,867 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.