Spire (NYSE:SR) Now Covered by Bank of America

Bank of America began coverage on shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) in a report issued on Friday morning. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $70.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on SR. StockNews.com cut shares of Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Spire from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.94.

Spire Price Performance

NYSE SR opened at $67.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.57. Spire has a 52-week low of $56.36 and a 52-week high of $73.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.86.

Spire Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $3.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This is a boost from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 18.55%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is 72.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In other news, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $178,504.25. This trade represents a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SR. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Spire during the third quarter worth $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 1,318.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co grew its stake in Spire by 28.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.