StockNews.com Upgrades Spire (NYSE:SR) to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.00.

Spire Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Spire stock opened at $77.37 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Spire has a 12-month low of $57.27 and a 12-month high of $78.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.08.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. Analysts predict that Spire will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire’s payout ratio is 76.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Spire by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Spire by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 193,065 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,096,000 after purchasing an additional 5,454 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in Spire during the fourth quarter valued at $30,083,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd lifted its holdings in Spire by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 9,798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sourcerock Group LLC purchased a new position in Spire during the fourth quarter valued at $12,567,000. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.