Spire (NYSE:SR) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an overweight rating. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now has a $85.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $72.00. Spire traded as high as $78.83 and last traded at $77.92, with a volume of 91954 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $76.91.

SR has been the subject of a number of other reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.70.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Spire by 87.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Spire in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Spire by 1,318.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Price Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $72.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.03.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS 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, equities analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.03%.

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.