Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $96.2222.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $96.00 target price on Spire in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Spire in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Spire from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $85.81 per share, for a total transaction of $171,620.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $600,670. This trade represents a 40.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SR. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in Spire during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Optima Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 186.8% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Spire Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:SR opened at $83.75 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $89.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.56. Spire has a 12-month low of $71.24 and a 12-month high of $95.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.04. Spire had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.60 earnings per share. Spire’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Spire will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is 58.00%.

Spire Company Profile

Spire Inc (NYSE: SR), formerly known as The Laclede Group, is a regulated natural gas distribution company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Through its three operating divisions—Spire Missouri, Spire Alabama and Spire Mississippi—the company delivers natural gas to more than 1.7 million residential, commercial and industrial customers. Spire’s service territory spans key markets in the central and southern United States, including metropolitan St. Louis, central Alabama and central Mississippi.

Founded in 1857 as the Laclede Gas Light Company, the business has grown through strategic acquisitions, notably Alabama Gas Corporation in 2013 and Mississippi Gas in 2016.