Spire (NYSE:SR) Research Coverage Started at UBS Group

UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) in a research report report published on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $68.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock.

Separately, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $62.25.

Spire Stock Performance

NYSE SR opened at $58.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $59.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.77. Spire has a 1 year low of $53.77 and a 1 year high of $70.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.51.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.10. Spire had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The firm had revenue of $756.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Spire will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.755 per share. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.40%.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total value of $73,223.82. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Spire 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 value of $75,220.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $393,423.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total transaction of $73,223.82. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cardinal Capital Management increased its holdings in Spire by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 31,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after buying an additional 6,716 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 14,970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $934,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 374,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,364,000 after purchasing an additional 61,564 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by 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.