Spire (NYSE:SR) Earns Sector Perform Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reiterated their sector perform rating on shares of Spire (NYSE:SR - Free Report) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $65.00 price objective on the utilities provider's stock.

SR has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group began coverage on Spire in a report on Friday. They issued a buy rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $62.25.

Spire Stock Performance

Spire stock traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $58.16. The company had a trading volume of 394,746 shares, compared to its average volume of 509,869. 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 capitalization of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.51. The company's fifty day moving average is $59.68 and its 200-day moving average is $59.77. Spire has a 12-month low of $53.77 and a 12-month high of $70.60.

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

Spire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.755 per share. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Spire's payout ratio is currently 81.40%.

Insider Transactions at Spire

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Spire by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,152,053 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $453,726,000 after buying an additional 396,807 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Spire by 0.8% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,968,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $394,254,000 after acquiring an additional 52,893 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Spire by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,583,880 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $315,936,000 after acquiring an additional 36,022 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Spire by 70,596.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,264,392 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $293,646,000 after purchasing an additional 4,258,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Spire by 126.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,501,638 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $198,123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951,969 shares during the last quarter. 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.