Spire (NYSE:SR) Upgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Spire (NYSE:SR) was upgraded by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $85.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $72.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 10.41% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.70.

Spire Stock Performance

SR opened at $76.99 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $72.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.03. Spire has a twelve month low of $57.27 and a twelve month high of $78.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 9.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Spire will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,432,000. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Spire during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,228,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,083,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Spire by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,022,870 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,381,000 after buying an additional 229,662 shares during the period. Finally, Sourcerock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,567,000. 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.