Spire (NYSE:SR) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $89.23 and last traded at $89.3950, with a volume of 5993 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $88.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SR. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Spire from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 price target on shares of Spire and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Spire in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America upgraded Spire from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $89.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.08.

Spire Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $81.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.26.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.10. Spire had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 11.56%.The business had revenue of $421.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $417.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.14) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Spire by 186.8% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Spire by 1,957.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in Spire during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Spire in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 1,031.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. 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.