Spire (NYSE:SR) Upgraded at Mizuho

Mizuho upgraded shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Mizuho currently has $76.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $65.00.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on SR. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com lowered Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.50.

Spire Stock Performance

NYSE:SR opened at $66.69 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.57. Spire has a 52-week low of $56.36 and a 52-week high of $73.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.45.

Spire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $3.14 per share. This is an increase from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 18.83%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $174,544.89. This trade represents a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $73.61 per share, with a total value of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at $178,504.25. The trade was a 70.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Spire

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in Spire during the third quarter valued at approximately $994,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the third quarter worth $575,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Spire by 5.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,244,000 after purchasing an additional 71,798 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 127.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 109,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,360,000 after purchasing an additional 61,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yaupon Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Spire by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 132,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,887,000 after purchasing an additional 19,190 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.