Spire (NYSE:SR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Spire (NYSE:SR) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on SR. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Mizuho upgraded Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.50.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SR opened at $65.67 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $68.10 and a 200 day moving average of $65.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.57. Spire has a 12 month low of $56.36 and a 12 month high of $73.64.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In related news, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 1,000 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at $178,504.25. The trade was a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $174,544.89. The trade was a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Spire by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,154,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $214,535,000 after buying an additional 44,969 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Spire by 5.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,244,000 after acquiring an additional 71,798 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Spire by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 944,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,351,000 after purchasing an additional 72,119 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Spire by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 805,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,231,000 after purchasing an additional 36,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Spire by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 646,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681 shares during the period. 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.