Spire (NYSE:SR) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

Spire (NYSE:SR) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Mizuho raised Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.50.

Spire Trading Up 1.5 %

SR stock opened at $69.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Spire has a 1-year low of $56.36 and a 1-year high of $73.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.20. The company has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.18, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In related news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $178,504.25. The trade was a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total transaction of $77,590.50. Following the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $174,544.89. This represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Spire by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 13,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $941,000 after buying an additional 3,836 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Spire by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 4,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,241,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Spire by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 63,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,317,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.