Spire (NYSE:SR) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SR. UBS Group assumed coverage on Spire in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho downgraded shares of Spire from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Thursday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, April 26th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $57.50 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Spire from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Spire presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.72.

Spire Stock Down 0.6 %

Spire stock traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $61.31. 441,248 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 494,315. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Spire has a twelve month low of $53.77 and a twelve month high of $69.99. The company has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $60.22 and a 200-day moving average of $60.10.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $3.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.21 billion. Spire had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 9.05%. The firm's revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Spire will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth $2,130,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,001,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Spire by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 772,012 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,127,000 after acquiring an additional 80,405 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 24,324 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,376,000 after acquiring an additional 2,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 278,155 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $15,738,000 after acquiring an additional 29,666 shares during the period. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.