Mizuho Raises Spire (NYSE:SR) Price Target to $65.00

Spire (NYSE:SR) had its price target upped by Mizuho from $62.00 to $65.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

SR has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Spire from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.06.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of Spire stock opened at $72.55 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $65.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.76. Spire has a twelve month low of $56.36 and a twelve month high of $72.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.52.

Spire Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $3.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This is a positive change from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 17.31%. Spire’s payout ratio is 72.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SR. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Spire during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Spire during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Spire during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Spire by 1,318.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Spire during the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.