Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $64.88.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. TheStreet lowered shares of Spire from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Spire from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Spire from $71.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Mizuho upgraded shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Friday, September 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Spire to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In other Spire news, EVP Steven P. Rasche acquired 3,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $30.82 per share, for a total transaction of $95,542.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 34,665 shares in the company, valued at $1,068,375.30. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Steven P. Rasche purchased 3,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $30.82 per share, with a total value of $95,542.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,068,375.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 779 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.42, for a total transaction of $47,067.18. Following the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 1,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,817.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the 1st quarter worth approximately $270,000. Dean Investment Associates LLC boosted its position in Spire by 17.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 60,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,859,000 after buying an additional 9,054 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Spire by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $643,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Spire by 78.9% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 87,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,573,000 after buying an additional 38,765 shares during the period. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Spire in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $401,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of SR opened at $59.91 on Thursday. Spire has a 1-year low of $53.77 and a 1-year high of $75.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $57.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.54.

Spire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 11th will be issued a $0.755 dividend. This is an increase from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 8th. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.04%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.82%.

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 two segments, Gas Utility and Gas Marketing. It is also involved in the marketing of natural gas.