Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $70.28.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America started coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $73.61 per share, with a total value of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $178,504.25. This represents a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Spire by 26.8% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Spire by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its position in shares of Spire by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of SR opened at $65.55 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Spire has a 1-year low of $56.36 and a 1-year high of $73.64.

Spire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $3.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This is a boost from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 19.16%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.85%.

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.