UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Spire (NYSE:SR) Stock

Spire (NYSE:SR) had its price objective hoisted by analysts at UBS Group from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 10.27% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Mizuho increased their price target on Spire from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.06.

Spire Trading Up 2.7 %

SR opened at $72.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.52. Spire has a one year low of $56.36 and a one year high of $72.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.48. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $65.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.76.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SR. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,244,000 after purchasing an additional 71,798 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Spire by 127.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 109,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,360,000 after buying an additional 61,357 shares during the last quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP raised its stake in Spire by 17.0% in the third quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 132,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,887,000 after buying an additional 19,190 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Spire during the 3rd quarter worth about $643,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the 3rd quarter worth about $220,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

About Spire

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.