Mizuho Upgrades Spire (NYSE:SR) to Outperform

Spire (NYSE:SR) was upgraded by stock analysts at Mizuho from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $76.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $65.00. Mizuho’s price target suggests a potential upside of 13.96% from the stock’s previous close.

SR has been the topic of several other reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.50.

Spire Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of SR stock opened at $66.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.57. Spire has a 1 year low of $56.36 and a 1 year high of $73.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.07.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In other news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of Spire stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $174,544.89. The trade was a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 1,000 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $178,504.25. The trade was a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of Spire in the third quarter valued at about $994,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Spire in the third quarter valued at approximately $575,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Spire by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,244,000 after purchasing an additional 71,798 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position in Spire by 127.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 109,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,360,000 after purchasing an additional 61,357 shares during the period. Finally, Yaupon Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Spire by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 132,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,887,000 after purchasing an additional 19,190 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.