Spire (NYSE:SR) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at UBS Group

by · The Markets Daily

Stock analysts at UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Spire (NYSE:SR – Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 15.86% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, Mizuho reduced their price target on Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.25.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Spire

Spire Stock Performance

SR opened at $58.69 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $59.69 and its 200 day moving average is $59.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.82, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.51. Spire has a 12-month low of $53.77 and a 12-month high of $71.54.

Spire (NYSE:SR – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $756.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.88 million. Spire had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Spire will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In other news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total transaction of $73,223.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $92,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total transaction of $73,223.82. Following the sale, the treasurer now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total transaction of $75,220.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $393,423.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter valued at $2,130,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in Spire by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 772,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,127,000 after purchasing an additional 80,405 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Spire by 9.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 24,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,376,000 after buying an additional 2,103 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 11.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 278,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,738,000 after buying an additional 29,666 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Spire by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 648,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,713,000 after acquiring an additional 33,153 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

About Spire

(Get Free Report)

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.

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