Spire (NYSE:SR) Price Target Raised to $82.00

Spire (NYSE:SR) had its price objective raised by Mizuho from $76.00 to $82.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on SR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Spire from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.00.

Spire Stock Performance

NYSE SR opened at $76.31 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Spire has a 12-month low of $57.27 and a 12-month high of $78.83.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 9.70%. Sell-side analysts predict that Spire will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.03%.

Institutional Trading of Spire

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Spire by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Spire by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 193,065 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,096,000 after buying an additional 5,454 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in Spire during the fourth quarter valued at $30,083,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd boosted its holdings in Spire by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 9,798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $665,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sourcerock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,567,000. 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.