Spire (NYSE:SR) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Spire (NYSE:SR) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Spire from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho upgraded Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.67.

Spire Stock Performance

NYSE:SR opened at $76.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Spire has a 12-month low of $57.27 and a 12-month high of $78.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $72.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.03.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 9.70%. Research analysts anticipate that Spire will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SR. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Spire during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 87.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 1,318.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

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.