Weekly Research Analysts’ Ratings Changes for Spire (SR)

Several brokerages have updated their recommendations and price targets on shares of Spire (NYSE: SR) in the last few weeks:

• 5/3/2024 – Spire was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating.
• 5/2/2024 – Spire was downgraded by analysts at Mizuho from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating. They now have a $62.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $64.00.
• 5/2/2024 – Spire had its price target raised by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $66.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 4/26/2024 – Spire is now covered by analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH. They set a “neutral” rating and a $57.50 price target on the stock.
• 4/16/2024 – Spire had its “sector perform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada. They now have a $65.00 price target on the stock.
• 4/12/2024 – Spire is now covered by analysts at UBS Group AG. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock.

Spire Stock Performance

SR stock opened at $61.81 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.17. Spire Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.77 and a twelve month high of $69.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.86 by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. Spire had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.70 EPS. Analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be paid a $0.755 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $3.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.89%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total value of $73,223.82. Following the transaction, the treasurer now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $92,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Spire by 85.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 48,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,724,000 after acquiring an additional 22,216 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 5.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 48.5% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 11.9% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares during the period. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 8.6% during the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 6,867 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

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.