Stifel Nicolaus Lowers Spire (NYSE:SR) Price Target to $69.00

Spire (NYSE:SR) had its price objective trimmed by Stifel Nicolaus from $70.00 to $69.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

SR has been the subject of several other reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Spire from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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. StockNews.com downgraded Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.06.

Spire Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:SR opened at $72.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Spire has a 12-month low of $56.36 and a 12-month high of $72.71.

Spire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $3.14 dividend. This is an increase from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 17.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Spire during the third quarter worth approximately $39,228,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Spire by 197.4% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 162,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,850,000 after buying an additional 107,662 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Spire by 290.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 130,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,877,000 after acquiring an additional 97,358 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 8.3% in 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. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 5.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,244,000 after acquiring an additional 71,798 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.