Spire (NYSE:SR) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Spire (NYSE:SR) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. TheStreet downgraded shares of Spire from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Spire from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Spire from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Spire from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Spire from $65.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.88.

Spire Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE SR opened at $61.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Spire has a 52 week low of $53.77 and a 52 week high of $75.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $57.80 and its 200 day moving average is $61.47. The company has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.50.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The utilities provider reported ($0.78) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.64) by ($0.14). Spire had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.16%. The firm had revenue of $310.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $337.48 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.66) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Spire will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $58.70 per share, with a total value of $58,700.00. Following the transaction, the treasurer now owns 4,190 shares in the company, valued at $245,953. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 779 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.42, for a total value of $47,067.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now owns 1,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,817.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard purchased 1,000 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $58.70 per share, with a total value of $58,700.00. Following the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 4,190 shares in the company, valued at $245,953. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Spire by 817.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 578 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its position in Spire by 31.8% in the first quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Spire by 81.9% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Spire by 1,419.0% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Spire by 159.2% in the first quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

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