Brokerages Set Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Target Price at $61.83

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $61.83.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SR shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Spire from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, April 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $57.50 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Spire from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Steven P. Rasche bought 4,500 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.83 per share, for a total transaction of $107,235.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 16,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $393,195. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SR. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,001,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,130,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 772,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,127,000 after purchasing an additional 80,405 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the first quarter valued at $2,401,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Spire by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 374,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,364,000 after purchasing an additional 61,564 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Stock Down 0.8 %

SR stock opened at $67.25 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $61.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.43. Spire has a twelve month low of $53.77 and a twelve month high of $68.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.51.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.86 by ($0.41). Spire had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 9.05%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.70 earnings per share. Spire’s revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Spire will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be paid a $0.755 dividend. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 11th. Spire’s payout ratio is 76.26%.

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.