Spire (NYSE:SR) Research Coverage Started at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

Equities research analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set a “neutral” rating and a $57.50 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH’s price objective points to a potential downside of 6.35% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SR. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.72.

Spire Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE SR opened at $61.40 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.99. Spire has a 52-week low of $53.77 and a 52-week high of $69.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.51. 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 (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.10. Spire had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 8.11%. The firm had revenue of $756.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $688.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. Spire’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Spire will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $393,423.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Spire news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total transaction of $75,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $393,423.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the 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 directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Securian Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 64,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,999,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 65,882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,107,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 21,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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 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.