Spire (NYSE:SR) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Thursday.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho upped their target price on Spire from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Spire presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.06.

Spire Trading Up 2.7 %

SR opened at $72.55 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $65.87 and its 200-day moving average is $63.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Spire has a 52-week low of $56.36 and a 52-week high of $72.71.

Spire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $3.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend yield of 17.31%. Spire’s payout ratio is 70.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Spire in the third quarter valued at $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Spire in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Spire by 1,318.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Spire in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

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.