Spire (NYSE:SR) Price Target Raised to $75.00

Spire (NYSE:SR) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Spire from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.06.

Spire Price Performance

NYSE:SR opened at $72.55 on Thursday. Spire has a one year low of $56.36 and a one year high of $72.71. The firm has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $65.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.35 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 issued a $3.14 dividend. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 17.31%. This is an increase from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is 72.85%.

Institutional Trading of Spire

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SR. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Spire by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co boosted its stake 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 last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 4.5% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. 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.