Spire (NYSE:SR) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $72.89 and last traded at $72.89, with a volume of 461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SR. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.06.

Spire Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Spire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $3.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This is an increase from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 17.17%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is 70.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Spire by 1,318.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.