LADENBURG THALM/SH SH Initiates Coverage on Spire (NYSE:SR)

Analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set a “neutral” rating and a $57.50 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH’s price target indicates a potential downside of 6.35% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Mizuho decreased 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Spire currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.72.

Spire Price Performance

SR stock opened at $61.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.01 and a 200-day moving average of $59.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Spire has a 12 month low of $53.77 and a 12 month high of $69.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.51.

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. Spire had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The business had revenue of $756.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. Spire’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Spire will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was 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 approximately $92,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 6,768 shares in the company, valued at $393,423.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 stock was 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 of the company’s stock, 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.

Institutional Trading of Spire

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Securian Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Spire by 3.8% in the first quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its stake in Spire by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 64,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,999,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in Spire by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 65,882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,107,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Spire by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 21,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Spire by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.