Spire (NYSE:SR) Raised to Outperform at Mizuho

Spire (NYSE:SR) was upgraded by stock analysts at Mizuho from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $76.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $65.00. Mizuho’s price objective points to a potential upside of 13.96% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on SR. Morgan Stanley dropped 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, November 22nd. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.50.

Spire Price Performance

SR opened at $66.69 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.57. Spire has a 12 month low of $56.36 and a 12 month high of $73.64.

Insider Activity

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 sale, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,544.89. This represents a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $73.61 per share, with a total value of $73,610.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $178,504.25. This trade 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $994,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Spire during the third quarter worth $575,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 5.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,244,000 after purchasing an additional 71,798 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Spire by 127.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 109,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,360,000 after purchasing an additional 61,357 shares during the period. Finally, Yaupon Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 132,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,887,000 after buying an additional 19,190 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Spire Company Profile

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.