Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $71.50.

Several research firms recently weighed in on SR. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Mizuho raised shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Spire in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total transaction of $77,590.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $174,544.89. This represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $178,504.25. This represents a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Spire by 26.8% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Spire by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 2.7% in 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 lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 28.6% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Spire by 4.5% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Stock Up 0.7 %

Spire stock opened at $67.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $67.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.14. Spire has a 1-year low of $56.36 and a 1-year high of $73.64.

Spire Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $3.14 dividend. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 18.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This is a boost from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Spire’s payout ratio is 72.85%.

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.