Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $96.2222.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Spire in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Spire in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised Spire from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Spire in a report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In other news, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 2,000 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $85.81 per share, for a total transaction of $171,620.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $600,670. This trade represents a 40.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SR. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in Spire during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Spire in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Optima Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Spire in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Spire in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Spire by 186.8% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE:SR opened at $82.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.52. Spire has a twelve month low of $71.24 and a twelve month high of $95.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $89.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.31.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Spire had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 13.97%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.60 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Spire will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Spire’s payout ratio is presently 58.00%.

Spire Company Profile

Spire Inc (NYSE: SR), formerly known as The Laclede Group, is a regulated natural gas distribution company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Through its three operating divisions—Spire Missouri, Spire Alabama and Spire Mississippi—the company delivers natural gas to more than 1.7 million residential, commercial and industrial customers. Spire’s service territory spans key markets in the central and southern United States, including metropolitan St. Louis, central Alabama and central Mississippi.

Founded in 1857 as the Laclede Gas Light Company, the business has grown through strategic acquisitions, notably Alabama Gas Corporation in 2013 and Mississippi Gas in 2016.