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

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $68.51 and last traded at $68.51, with a volume of 675 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Spire from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Spire presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.19.

Spire Trading Up 5.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.04. Spire had a net margin of 9.40% and a return on equity of 8.10%. The company had revenue of $414.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.42) earnings per share. Spire’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th were given a dividend of $0.755 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.41%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maria V. Fogarty sold 6,590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.15, for a total value of $429,338.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,800 shares in the company, valued at $638,470. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Maria V. Fogarty sold 6,590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.15, for a total transaction of $429,338.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $638,470. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total transaction of $32,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,311 shares in the company, valued at $473,899.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SR. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 116.2% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 28,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 15,060 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Spire by 38.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,057 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in Spire by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 28,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,947,000 after buying an additional 5,140 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management boosted its position in Spire by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 36,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,477,000 after buying an additional 3,639 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning grew its stake in Spire by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

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.