Spire (NYSE:SR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

SR has been the subject of several other reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho upgraded Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Spire in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.50.

Spire Stock Up 0.6 %

SR opened at $67.53 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.57. Spire has a 52 week low of $56.36 and a 52 week high of $73.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.21.

Spire Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $3.14 per share. This is an increase from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 18.60%. Spire’s payout ratio is 72.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $178,504.25. The trade was a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the transaction, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at $174,544.89. This represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,244,000 after acquiring an additional 71,798 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the third quarter worth about $787,000. Cynosure Group LLC purchased a new position in Spire in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,067,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Spire by 116.2% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 28,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 15,060 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its stake in Spire by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 288,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,511,000 after purchasing an additional 31,923 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.