Spire (NYSE:SR) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Guggenheim Analyst Says

Spire (NYSE:SR) had its target price increased by Guggenheim from $67.00 to $72.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Bank of America started 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. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Spire in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $72.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.64.

Spire Trading Up 0.6 %

SR opened at $78.75 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company’s 50 day moving average is $74.54 and its 200-day moving average is $69.79. Spire has a 1-year low of $57.27 and a 1-year high of $79.11.

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

Spire Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.03%.

Institutional Trading of Spire

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,432,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at $30,083,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,022,870 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,381,000 after purchasing an additional 229,662 shares during the period. Sourcerock Group LLC bought a new stake in Spire in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,567,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Spire by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 722,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,026,000 after buying an additional 139,815 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.