Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $68.06.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SR. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com cut Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price objective on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SR. Blue Trust Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 2.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its position 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 buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Spire by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of Spire stock opened at $72.55 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $65.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.35. Spire has a 1 year low of $56.36 and a 1 year high of $72.71.

Spire Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $3.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 17.31%. This is a boost from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.