Spire (NYSE:SR) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Spire from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.06.

Spire Stock Performance

SR stock opened at $72.55 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50 day moving average of $65.87 and a 200-day moving average of $63.85. Spire has a 12-month low of $56.36 and a 12-month high of $72.71.

Spire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This is a boost from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 17.31%. Spire’s payout ratio is presently 72.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Spire during the second quarter worth about $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Spire in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 1,318.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. 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.