Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the eight analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $66.19.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SR shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Spire from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SR opened at $65.09 on Thursday. Spire has a 12 month low of $56.36 and a 12 month high of $68.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.52.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total value of $32,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,899.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 7.1% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 13,536 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $831,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of Spire by 4.8% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 5,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in Spire by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 46,977 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,739,000 after buying an additional 2,758 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in Spire by 4.8% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 69,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,237,000 after purchasing an additional 3,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $451,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.