Spire (NYSE:SR) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) in a research note released on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $57.50 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a buy rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Spire currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $61.72.

Spire Stock Down 0.6 %

SR opened at $61.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $60.01 and its 200 day moving average is $60.00. Spire has a fifty-two week low of $53.77 and a fifty-two week high of $69.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.51.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $756.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.88 million. Spire had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The firm’s revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Spire will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be issued a $0.755 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.92%. Spire’s payout ratio is 81.40%.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In other news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total value of $73,223.82. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total transaction of $75,220.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $393,423.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total transaction of $73,223.82. Following the sale, the treasurer now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Securian Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Spire by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its position in Spire by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 24,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,525,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Spire by 59.6% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 54,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,347,000 after purchasing an additional 20,363 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in Spire by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 15,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Spire during the 1st quarter valued at $444,000. 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.