Brokerages Set Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Target Price at $74.00

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $74.00.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America began coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total transaction of $77,590.50. Following the transaction, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,544.89. This represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Spire in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Spire by 87.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Spire by 1,318.4% in the third 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR opened at $75.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $71.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.61. Spire has a 52 week low of $57.27 and a 52 week high of $78.80.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. Research analysts expect that Spire will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.03%.

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.