Spire (NYSE:SR) Stock Rating Upgraded by LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

Spire (NYSE:SR) was upgraded by LADENBURG THALM/SH SH from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $83.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH’s price objective points to a potential upside of 9.32% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on SR. Mizuho upgraded shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Spire Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE SR opened at $75.93 on Wednesday. Spire has a 1 year low of $57.27 and a 1 year high of $76.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.16 and a 200 day moving average of $67.82. The stock has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.58.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Spire will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total transaction of $77,590.50. Following the transaction, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at $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 bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $73.61 per share, with a total value of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Spire by 5.2% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in Spire by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its stake in shares of Spire by 28.6% during the 3rd 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, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 9,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $614,000 after buying 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.