Spire (NYSE:SR) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $76.80 and last traded at $76.43, with a volume of 529215 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $75.64.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target 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. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spire has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

Spire Stock Up 1.0 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $70.16 and a 200-day moving average of $67.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.50.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. Research analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.03%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Spire by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 193,065 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,096,000 after buying an additional 5,454 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,083,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd boosted its stake in Spire by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 9,798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $665,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,567,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Spire by 95.1% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 23,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,614,000 after buying an additional 11,600 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.