Spire (NYSE:SR) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $72.89 and last traded at $72.89, with a volume of 461 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $72.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Spire from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.06.

Spire Stock Down 1.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $66.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.03.

Spire Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $3.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 17.30%. This is an increase from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Spire’s payout ratio is 70.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SR. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Spire during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Spire by 1,318.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Spire in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 26.8% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. 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 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.