Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Receives $61.83 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $61.83.

Several analysts recently issued reports on SR shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Spire in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised Spire from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Spire from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Spire from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SR opened at $60.73 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $60.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Spire has a fifty-two week low of $53.77 and a fifty-two week high of $66.48.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Spire had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.70 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Spire will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be paid a $0.755 dividend. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Steven P. Rasche acquired 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.83 per share, for a total transaction of $107,235.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 16,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $393,195. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Spire

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Spire in the 4th quarter worth about $24,541,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Spire by 125.6% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 627,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,121,000 after acquiring an additional 349,393 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Spire by 275.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 313,212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,722,000 after acquiring an additional 229,771 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its position in Spire by 153.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 184,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,509,000 after purchasing an additional 111,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in Spire by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 772,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,127,000 after purchasing an additional 80,405 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.