Analysts Set Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) PT at $96.22

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $95.10.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $96.00 price objective on Spire in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Spire in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In related news, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 500 shares of Spire stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $78.46 per share, for a total transaction of $39,230.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $627,680. This represents a 6.67% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total value of $307,709.22. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,295 shares in the company, valued at $1,150,890.45. This trade represents a 21.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired a total of 3,000 shares of company stock worth $251,100 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Optima Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Price Performance

Spire stock opened at $79.05 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.55. Spire has a 52 week low of $71.24 and a 52 week high of $95.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $84.20 and a 200-day moving average of $86.39.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.04. Spire had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 13.97%.The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.60 EPS. Spire’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Spire will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Spire’s payout ratio is 58.00%.

About Spire

Spire Inc (NYSE: SR), formerly known as The Laclede Group, is a regulated natural gas distribution company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Through its three operating divisions—Spire Missouri, Spire Alabama and Spire Mississippi—the company delivers natural gas to more than 1.7 million residential, commercial and industrial customers. Spire’s service territory spans key markets in the central and southern United States, including metropolitan St. Louis, central Alabama and central Mississippi.

Founded in 1857 as the Laclede Gas Light Company, the business has grown through strategic acquisitions, notably Alabama Gas Corporation in 2013 and Mississippi Gas in 2016.