Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

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

SR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Spire from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America started coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Mizuho raised Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at $178,504.25. This represents a 70.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the 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 sale, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $174,544.89. This trade represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Spire by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,244,000 after purchasing an additional 71,798 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire in the third quarter worth $787,000. Cynosure Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the third quarter valued at $4,067,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Spire by 116.2% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 28,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,886,000 after buying an additional 15,060 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Spire in the 3rd quarter worth about $790,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Price Performance

SR stock opened at $66.30 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $68.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.02. Spire has a 52-week low of $56.36 and a 52-week high of $73.64. The company has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Spire Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were paid a dividend of $3.14 per share. This is a boost from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 18.94%. 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.