Spire (NYSE:SR) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to Strong-Buy Rating

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Spire from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Spire from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.50.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR stock opened at $86.59 on Monday. Spire has a 52-week low of $69.94 and a 52-week high of $95.31. The company’s 50 day moving average is $90.95 and its 200 day moving average is $87.59. The firm has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.04. Spire had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Spire will post 5.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $85.81 per share, for a total transaction of $171,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $600,670. The trade was a 40.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Spire by 21.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 219,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,923,000 after purchasing an additional 38,875 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new stake in shares of Spire during the third quarter worth about $1,414,000. Csenge Advisory Group grew its stake in Spire by 131.0% in the 3rd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 37,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,049,000 after acquiring an additional 21,211 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Spire by 30.8% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 374,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,493,000 after purchasing an additional 88,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Spire by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 550,974 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,915,000 after buying an additional 27,292 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Company Profile

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.