Spire (NYSE:SR) Given Sector Perform Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reiterated their sector perform rating on shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $65.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on SR. UBS Group started coverage on Spire in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a buy rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Mizuho decreased their target price on Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $62.25.

Spire Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of SR stock opened at $58.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $59.68 and a 200-day moving average of $59.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Spire has a 1-year low of $53.77 and a 1-year high of $70.60.

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

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $0.755 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.19%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total value of $73,223.82. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total value of $75,220.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,768 shares in the company, valued at $393,423.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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. Insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 81.9% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 817.5% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 578 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 31.8% in the first quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Spire by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in Spire during the third quarter worth $65,000. Institutional investors 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.