Brokerages Set Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Target Price at $70.28

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $71.50.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SR. StockNews.com raised shares of Spire from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho upgraded Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Spire in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In other news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $178,504.25. The trade was a 70.18 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,544.89. This represents a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SR. Blue Trust Inc. raised 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 valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $691,000 after buying an additional 1,375 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Spire by 3.2% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 16,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $990,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in shares of Spire by 3.2% during the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 71,274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,328,000 after buying an additional 2,229 shares during the period. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in Spire by 3.0% in the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 13,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of SR opened at $67.11 on Friday. Spire has a 52-week low of $56.36 and a 52-week high of $73.64. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $67.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Spire Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $3.14 per share. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 18.72%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This is a positive change from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.85%.

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.