Spire (NYSE:SR) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $75.00 to $78.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Spire traded as high as $78.83 and last traded at $77.92, with a volume of 91954 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.91.

SR has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group upped their target price on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Spire by 33.1% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Spire by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 112,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,587,000 after purchasing an additional 4,600 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Spire during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Commerce Bank grew its holdings in Spire by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 24,186 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,627,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire in the 3rd quarter valued at about $790,000. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spire Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $73.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.50.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 9.70%. Equities research analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire’s payout ratio is presently 76.03%.

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.