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

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) 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

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SR shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America assumed coverage on Spire in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Spire from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Mizuho raised Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Spire Stock Up 1.4 %

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.97. The company has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 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.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling 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 value of $77,590.50. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $174,544.89. This represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was purchased 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 directly owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $178,504.25. This trade represents a 70.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Spire in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 87.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 1,318.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.