Spire (NYSE:SR) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

Spire (NYSE:SR) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

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

Spire Trading Up 3.2 %

NYSE:SR traded up $2.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $70.59. 222,819 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 414,966. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.71. 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 fifty-two week low of $56.36 and a fifty-two week high of $70.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.97, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.52.

Institutional Trading of Spire

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Spire by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Spire by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in Spire by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co increased its stake in Spire by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Spire by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

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.