Analysts Set Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Price Target at $71.50

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $71.50.

Several research analysts have weighed in on SR shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday.

Insider Activity

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at $178,504.25. The trade was a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of Spire stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at $174,544.89. The trade was a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Spire by 87.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Spire by 1,318.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co lifted its holdings in Spire by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Spire by 38.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,057 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Spire Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of SR opened at $69.72 on Tuesday. Spire has a twelve month low of $56.36 and a twelve month high of $73.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.18, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $68.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.31.

Spire Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th were given a dividend of $3.14 per share. This is a positive change from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 18.02%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.85%.

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.