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

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $95.10.

SR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Spire in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company.

Spire Stock Up 1.9%

SR opened at $80.79 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Spire has a 1-year low of $71.24 and a 1-year high of $95.31. The company has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.38.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. Spire had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Spire will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is 58.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 14,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,150,890.45. This represents a 21.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $78.46 per share, with a total value of $39,230.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $627,680. This represents a 6.67% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders bought 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $251,100. Corporate insiders own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SR. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in Spire during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Spire during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Optima Capital LLC purchased a new position in Spire during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Spire during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Spire during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.