UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Spire (NYSE:SR) Stock Price

Spire (NYSE:SR) had its price objective increased by UBS Group from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Spire from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Spire currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.06.

Spire Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:SR opened at $72.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $65.87 and a 200 day moving average of $63.85. Spire has a 52-week low of $56.36 and a 52-week high of $72.71.

Spire Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 17.31%. This is a positive change from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Spire by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,626,863 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $345,321,000 after buying an additional 65,486 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Spire by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,154,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $214,535,000 after acquiring an additional 44,969 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 5.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,244,000 after acquiring an additional 71,798 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Spire by 8.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 944,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,351,000 after buying an additional 72,119 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 805,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,231,000 after acquiring an additional 36,214 shares during the period. 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.