Spire (NYSE:SR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on SR. Mizuho upgraded Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.50.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SR opened at $67.11 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $67.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.14. Spire has a 52 week low of $56.36 and a 52 week high of $73.64. The company has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.57, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.57.

Spire Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $3.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This is a positive change from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 18.72%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.85%.

Insider Activity

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at $178,504.25. The trade was a 70.18 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,544.89. This trade represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SR. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 3.2% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 16,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in Spire by 3.2% in the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 71,274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,328,000 after buying an additional 2,229 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 3.0% during the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 13,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,867 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 1,350 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Spire during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Company Profile

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.