Morgan Stanley Cuts Spire (NYSE:SR) Price Target to $75.00

Spire (NYSE:SR) had its target price decreased by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $77.00 to $75.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 3.73% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on SR. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Spire currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.06.

Spire Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of SR traded up $1.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $72.30. 133,198 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 413,725. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average is $65.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.76. The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.52. Spire has a 52 week low of $56.36 and a 52 week high of $72.30.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Spire by 26.8% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Spire by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Spire by 4.5% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.