Spire (NYSE:SR) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Spire (NYSE:SR) had its price target boosted by UBS Group from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. UBS Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 14.70% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on SR. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Spire from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.31.

Spire Stock Up 2.0 %

SR stock traded up $1.36 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $69.75. 70,546 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 413,485. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Spire has a 12-month low of $56.36 and a 12-month high of $69.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $65.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.52.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Spire in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,228,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Spire by 197.4% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 162,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,850,000 after acquiring an additional 107,662 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 290.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 130,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,877,000 after buying an additional 97,358 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 944,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,351,000 after buying an additional 72,119 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 71,798 shares during the period. 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.