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

StockNews.com cut shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on SR. UBS Group upped their target price on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on Spire in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.50.

Spire Price Performance

SR stock opened at $73.95 on Friday. Spire has a 1 year low of $57.27 and a 1 year high of $74.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $69.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.27. The firm has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.91, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.58.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Spire will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. Spire’s payout ratio is 76.03%.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In related news, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $178,504.25. This trade represents a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,544.89. This represents a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Spire

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in Spire by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Spire by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in Spire by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co boosted its position in Spire by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in Spire by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 9,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.