Spire (NYSE:SR) Downgraded by Mizuho to Neutral

Mizuho lowered shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $62.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their prior price target of $64.00.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on SR. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a buy rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Spire in a research note on Friday, April 26th. They set a neutral rating and a $57.50 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $61.72.

Spire Stock Performance

SR opened at $61.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $60.22 and a 200-day moving average of $60.12. Spire has a 52-week low of $53.77 and a 52-week high of $69.99.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by ($0.41). Spire had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 9.05%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Spire will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be paid a $0.755 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.93%. Spire’s payout ratio is currently 76.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Spire news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total value of $75,220.22. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,768 shares in the company, valued at $393,423.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total transaction of $75,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $393,423.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total transaction of $73,223.82. Following the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $92,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SR. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 81.9% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the first quarter valued at $37,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Spire by 30.2% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Spire by 206.6% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

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.