Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Receives $95.11 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $95.1111.

Several analysts have commented on SR shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Spire in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Spire from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Spire from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th.

Spire Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of Spire stock opened at $86.55 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Spire has a 1 year low of $69.94 and a 1 year high of $95.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $91.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.62. The stock has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.82, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.56.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. Spire had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 9.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Spire will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Spire by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,348,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its position in shares of Spire by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Spire by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Spire by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $474,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Spire by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spire Company Profile

Spire Inc (NYSE: SR), formerly known as The Laclede Group, is a regulated natural gas distribution company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Through its three operating divisions—Spire Missouri, Spire Alabama and Spire Mississippi—the company delivers natural gas to more than 1.7 million residential, commercial and industrial customers. Spire’s service territory spans key markets in the central and southern United States, including metropolitan St. Louis, central Alabama and central Mississippi.

Founded in 1857 as the Laclede Gas Light Company, the business has grown through strategic acquisitions, notably Alabama Gas Corporation in 2013 and Mississippi Gas in 2016.