Spire (NYSE:SR) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday morning.

SR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.50.

Spire Stock Up 3.9 %

SR stock opened at $72.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business has a 50 day moving average of $68.60 and a 200 day moving average of $66.31. Spire has a twelve month low of $56.36 and a twelve month high of $73.64. The firm has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.57.

Spire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th were paid a dividend of $3.14 per share. This is a positive change from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 17.37%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.85%.

Insider Activity

In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total transaction of $77,590.50. Following the transaction, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,544.89. This trade represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $73.61 per share, with a total value of $73,610.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $178,504.25. This trade represents a 70.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in Spire by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 121,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,255,000 after buying an additional 923 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Spire by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 850 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its position in Spire by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 13,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $941,000 after buying an additional 3,836 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Spire by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 4,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Company Profile

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.