Spire (NYSE:SR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America assumed coverage on Spire in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Spire from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SR opened at $76.42 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. Spire has a one year low of $57.27 and a one year high of $78.80.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. Sell-side analysts expect that Spire will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is 76.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Spire by 5.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,244,000 after acquiring an additional 71,798 shares during the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC bought a new position in Spire in the third quarter valued at about $4,067,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Spire in the third quarter valued at about $790,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Spire by 4.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 805,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,231,000 after buying an additional 36,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Spire by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. 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.