Spire (NYSE:SR) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wells Fargo & Company

Spire (NYSE:SR) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on SR. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Spire from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Two investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.50.

Spire Stock Up 1.0%

SR stock opened at $86.59 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $90.95 and its 200 day moving average is $87.59. Spire has a one year low of $69.94 and a one year high of $95.31.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Spire had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Spire will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $85.81 per share, with a total value of $171,620.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $600,670. This represents a 40.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Optima Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 186.8% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.