Morgan Stanley Trims Spire (NYSE:SR) Target Price to $64.00

Spire (NYSE:SR) had its target price decreased by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $67.00 to $64.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 8.49% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on SR. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho lowered shares of Spire from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $62.00 in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Spire from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, April 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $57.50 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.83.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of SR stock traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $58.99. 63,397 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 444,408. Spire has a fifty-two week low of $53.77 and a fifty-two week high of $66.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $60.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.52. The company has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $3.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.86 by ($0.41). Spire had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.70 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Spire will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Steven P. Rasche acquired 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.83 per share, for a total transaction of $107,235.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $393,195. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Spire in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Spire in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Spire in the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Spire by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Spire by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.