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

Spire (NYSE:SR) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

SR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Spire from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered 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 research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.06.

Spire Stock Performance

NYSE SR opened at $72.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $65.74 and a 200 day moving average of $63.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Spire has a twelve month low of $56.36 and a twelve month high of $72.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Spire during the second quarter worth $31,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Spire in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 1,318.4% in 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 last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the 1st quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

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.