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

Spire (NYSE:SR) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho raised their target price on Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Spire Stock Performance

NYSE:SR opened at $77.45 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Spire has a twelve month low of $57.27 and a twelve month high of $78.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 9.70%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Spire will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SR. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 87.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Spire in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 1,318.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors 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.