Spire (NYSE:SR) Rating Increased to Buy at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

Spire (NYSE:SR) was upgraded by equities research analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Finviz reports. The brokerage currently has a $83.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 9.71% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of 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 report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. 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. UBS Group increased their price target on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.00.

Spire Stock Performance

NYSE SR opened at $75.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $69.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.58. Spire has a fifty-two week low of $57.27 and a fifty-two week high of $76.41.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Spire will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $178,504.25. The trade was a 70.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total transaction of $77,590.50. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,544.89. This trade 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

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SR. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Spire during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Spire by 87.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is 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.