Spire (NYSE:SR) Director Paul Koonce Buys 500 Shares of Stock

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Director Paul Koonce acquired 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $78.46 per share, with a total value of $39,230.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,680. This represents a 6.67% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Spire Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE SR opened at $79.11 on Friday. Spire Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.24 and a 1-year high of $95.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $87.48 and a 200-day moving average of $86.92. The firm has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.52.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.04. Spire had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 13.97%.The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.60 EPS. Spire’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. Spire’s payout ratio is 58.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SR. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Optima Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 186.8% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Spire in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. TD Cowen began coverage on Spire in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $96.00 price target on Spire in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.22.

About Spire

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.