Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $61.83.

Several equities analysts recently commented on SR shares. UBS Group started coverage on Spire in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Spire from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Spire from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Mizuho lowered Spire from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $64.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd.

Spire Stock Performance

NYSE SR opened at $60.59 on Friday. Spire has a fifty-two week low of $53.77 and a fifty-two week high of $66.48. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $60.59 and a 200-day moving average of $60.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $3.45 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Spire will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th were given a $0.755 dividend. This represents a $3.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 11th. Spire’s payout ratio is 76.26%.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In related news, EVP Steven P. Rasche bought 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.83 per share, with a total value of $107,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $393,195. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at about $24,541,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Spire by 125.6% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 627,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,121,000 after purchasing an additional 349,393 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Spire by 275.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 313,212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $17,722,000 after purchasing an additional 229,771 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Spire by 153.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 184,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,509,000 after purchasing an additional 111,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Spire by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 772,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,127,000 after purchasing an additional 80,405 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.