Spire (NYSE:SR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Spire (NYSE:SR) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on SR. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Spire from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Spire from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Spire from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $72.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.40.

Spire Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SR opened at $74.61 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $76.45 and a 200 day moving average of $71.90. The company has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.65. Spire has a 12-month low of $57.77 and a 12-month high of $79.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Spire will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Spire by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,870 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Spire by 3.2% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,915 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 21.7% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

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.