Spire (NYSE:SR) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America started coverage on Spire in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

Spire Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.97.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.03%.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In other news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the firm’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 owns 2,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $174,544.89. This trade represents a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $178,504.25. This trade represents a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Spire

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Spire during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,432,000. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Spire during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,228,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in Spire during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,083,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Spire by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,022,870 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,381,000 after buying an additional 229,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sourcerock Group LLC purchased a new position in Spire during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $12,567,000. 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.