Spire (NYSE:SR) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on SR. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Spire from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Spire presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.00.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of Spire stock opened at $77.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. Spire has a 52 week low of $57.27 and a 52 week high of $78.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $73.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SR. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in Spire by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in shares of Spire by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 9,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Spire by 87.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 9,798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $665,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Spire by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spire Company Profile

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.