Spire (NYSE:SR) Given New $82.00 Price Target at Mizuho

Spire (NYSE:SR) had its target price increased by Mizuho from $76.00 to $82.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SR. StockNews.com raised Spire from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America assumed coverage on Spire in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.67.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SR opened at $76.99 on Wednesday. Spire has a twelve month low of $57.27 and a twelve month high of $78.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day moving average is $72.88 and its 200 day moving average is $69.03.

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

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.03%.

Institutional Trading of Spire

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Spire by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 4.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 112,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,587,000 after acquiring an additional 4,600 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Commerce Bank boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 2.2% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 24,186 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,627,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Spire during the third quarter worth approximately $790,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.