Spire (NYSE:SR) Downgraded by LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $60.50 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $65.50.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Spire from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.19.

Spire Price Performance

NYSE:SR opened at $65.25 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $65.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.52. Spire has a 52-week low of $54.15 and a 52-week high of $68.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.04. Spire had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 9.40%. The business had revenue of $414.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.42) EPS. Spire’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Spire will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.755 per share. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.26%.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In other news, Director Maria V. Fogarty sold 6,590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.15, for a total transaction of $429,338.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $638,470. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Maria V. Fogarty sold 6,590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.15, for a total value of $429,338.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $638,470. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total value of $32,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,311 shares in the company, valued at $473,899.02. The trade was a 0.00 % 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

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SR. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Spire by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 374,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,364,000 after acquiring an additional 61,564 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its position in Spire by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 14,970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $934,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Spire in the 1st quarter worth approximately $222,000. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management increased its position in Spire by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 31,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,960,000 after buying an additional 6,716 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is 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.