Spire (NYSE:SR) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) in a report issued on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $57.50 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a buy rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Spire has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $61.72.

Spire Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of SR stock opened at $61.63 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.51. Spire has a 52 week low of $53.77 and a 52 week high of $69.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.03.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $756.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $688.88 million. Spire had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The business’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. Analysts predict that Spire will post 4.34 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.755 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $3.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.90%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 6,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $393,423.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total transaction of $75,220.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,768 shares in the company, valued at $393,423.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total transaction of $73,223.82. Following the sale, the treasurer now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Spire

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Spire by 81.9% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Spire by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Spire by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Spire by 206.6% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Spire during the fourth quarter worth about $159,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.