Morgan Stanley Boosts Spire (NYSE:SR) Price Target to $76.00

Spire (NYSE:SR) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $70.00 to $76.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spire currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $63.83.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SR opened at $67.14 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.31. Spire has a twelve month low of $53.77 and a twelve month high of $68.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.04. Spire had a net margin of 9.40% and a return on equity of 8.10%. The company had revenue of $414.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.86 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.42) earnings per share. Spire’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Spire will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.755 per share. This represents a $3.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Spire news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total transaction of $32,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,311 shares in the company, valued at $473,899.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Spire news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total value of $32,410.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,899.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Maria V. Fogarty sold 6,590 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.15, for a total value of $429,338.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $638,470. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Spire during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Spire during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Spire in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Spire by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. 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.