Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Spire (NYSE:SR) Price Target to $73.00

Spire (NYSE:SR) had its price objective hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $73.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of 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 boosted their target price on Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.19.

Spire Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of SR stock opened at $65.26 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $65.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.35. Spire has a 1-year low of $54.15 and a 1-year high of $68.02.

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

Spire Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 7,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,899.02. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Maria V. Fogarty sold 6,590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.15, for a total transaction of $429,338.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,800 shares in the company, valued at $638,470. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 7,311 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Trading of Spire

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Spire by 197.4% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 162,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,850,000 after buying an additional 107,662 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Spire by 290.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 130,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,877,000 after acquiring an additional 97,358 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Spire during the first quarter worth about $4,488,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 944,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,351,000 after purchasing an additional 72,119 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 698,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,439,000 after purchasing an additional 69,020 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

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.