Spire (NYSE:SR) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on SR. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.50.

Spire Price Performance

NYSE:SR opened at $68.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Spire has a one year low of $56.36 and a one year high of $73.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $67.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.60. The stock has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.57.

Spire Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were paid a $3.14 dividend. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 18.32%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. This is an increase from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Spire’s payout ratio is currently 72.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at $178,504.25. This trade represents a 70.18 % increase in their position. The transaction 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 stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the sale, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at $174,544.89. The trade was a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Spire by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,154,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $214,535,000 after purchasing an additional 44,969 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Spire by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,244,000 after purchasing an additional 71,798 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Spire by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 944,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,351,000 after buying an additional 72,119 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Spire by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 805,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,231,000 after buying an additional 36,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Spire by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 698,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,439,000 after buying an additional 69,020 shares during the period. 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.