Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Receives $70.28 Average Target Price from Analysts

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $71.50.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SR shares. Bank of America began coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a report on Thursday, October 17th.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR stock opened at $66.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.10. Spire has a one year low of $56.36 and a one year high of $73.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.45.

Spire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $3.14 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 18.83%. Spire’s payout ratio is 72.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In related news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $174,544.89. The trade was a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Spire during the third quarter worth about $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Spire during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Spire by 1,318.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Spire by 26.8% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 28.6% during the third quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.