Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Receives $94.30 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $94.30.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SR shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Spire from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $96.00 price objective on Spire in a report on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, June 26th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Spire in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 price target for the company.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In other news, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total value of $307,709.22. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,150,890.45. The trade was a 21.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $78.46 per share, for a total transaction of $39,230.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $627,680. This trade represents a 6.67% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought 3,000 shares of company stock worth $251,100 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in Spire by 158.1% during the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,990,000 after acquiring an additional 612,500 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,226,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 44.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 846,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $68,987,000 after purchasing an additional 260,344 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Spire by 40.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 647,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,560,000 after purchasing an additional 185,796 shares during the period. Finally, South Street Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter worth $15,213,000. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Trading Down 0.2%

SR opened at $81.25 on Friday. Spire has a 1-year low of $71.24 and a 1-year high of $95.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of 14.28, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.08.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Spire had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.49%. Spire’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Spire will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 11th. Spire’s payout ratio is presently 58.00%.

About Spire

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.