Spire (NYSE:SR) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $73.96 and last traded at $73.67, with a volume of 58869 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $73.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 reduced 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. Mizuho upgraded Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $65.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Spire in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.50.

Spire Stock Up 0.9 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 17.89, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.58.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. Equities research analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire’s payout ratio is currently 76.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in Spire by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Spire by 5.2% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 2.7% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Missouri Trust & Investment Co grew its holdings in Spire by 28.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in Spire by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 9,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.