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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on SR. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Spire in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.50.

Spire Stock Performance

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

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.785 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.18%. Spire’s payout ratio is 76.03%.

Insider Activity at Spire

In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total transaction of $77,590.50. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at $174,544.89. This 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 at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $73.61 per share, with a total value of $73,610.00. Following 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Spire

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Spire during the third quarter worth $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Spire during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Spire during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Spire by 1,318.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 501 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.