Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Receives $71.50 Consensus PT from Analysts

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $71.50.

Several analysts recently weighed in on SR shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In related news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of Spire stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at $174,544.89. This trade represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at $178,504.25. The trade was a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter valued at $42,432,000. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Spire in the third quarter valued at $39,228,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Spire by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,022,870 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,381,000 after acquiring an additional 229,662 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Spire by 48.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,079,000 after acquiring an additional 138,971 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at $8,277,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spire Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of SR opened at $73.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.58. Spire has a 1 year low of $56.99 and a 1 year high of $73.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.50. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.14.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. Analysts forecast that Spire will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.30%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.