Spire (NYSE:SR) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $75.12 and last traded at $75.23, with a volume of 134103 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $73.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SR shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on Spire in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Spire in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.50.

Spire Trading Up 1.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $69.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.48.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.03%.

Insider Activity at Spire

In other news, 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 in the company, valued at $174,544.89. The trade was a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $178,504.25. This represents a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter worth about $42,432,000. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the third quarter worth about $39,228,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter worth about $30,083,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,022,870 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,381,000 after purchasing an additional 229,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sourcerock Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter worth about $12,567,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.