Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Receives $68.06 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.93.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SR shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Spire from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a report on Thursday, October 17th.

Spire Stock Up 0.1 %

Spire stock opened at $73.19 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.45. Spire has a fifty-two week low of $56.36 and a fifty-two week high of $73.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $66.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.23.

Spire Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $3.14 per share. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 17.16%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This is a boost from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Spire’s payout ratio is 72.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Spire in the third quarter valued at $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Spire by 1,318.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Spire during the first quarter worth approximately $47,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.