Spire (NYSE:SR) Now Covered by UBS Group

Equities research analysts at UBS Group started coverage on shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) in a research report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. UBS Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 15.92% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spire has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.25.

Spire Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of SR stock opened at $58.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Spire has a 12-month low of $53.77 and a 12-month high of $70.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.71. The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.51.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.10. Spire had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The company had revenue of $756.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Spire will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Spire

In related news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total value of $73,223.82. Following the transaction, the treasurer now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $92,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total transaction of $75,220.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,768 shares in the company, valued at $393,423.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total transaction of $73,223.82. Following the transaction, the treasurer now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SR. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 81.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 817.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 578 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Spire in the 3rd quarter worth about $65,000. 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.