Spire (NYSE:SR) Price Target Raised to $70.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Spire (NYSE:SR) had its target price boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $64.00 to $70.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on SR. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Spire from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Spire from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com raised Spire from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group began coverage on Spire in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a buy rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Spire currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $62.50.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SR traded down $0.50 during trading on Thursday, reaching $65.77. 34,279 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 432,611. The company’s 50 day moving average is $61.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 16.73, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Spire has a 52 week low of $53.77 and a 52 week high of $68.02.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.04. Spire had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 9.40%. The business had revenue of $414.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.86 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.42) EPS. Spire’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Spire will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.755 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $3.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.59%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Spire news, EVP Steven P. Rasche bought 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.83 per share, with a total value of $107,235.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $393,195. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Spire during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Spire in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Spire in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Spire in the first quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 26.8% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Company Profile

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.