Spire (NYSE:SR) Price Target Lowered to $76.00 at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has lowered its price target for Spire (NYSE:SR) from $81.00 to $76.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating which suggests a potential downside of 3.64% from the company's previous close.
• Spire reported quarterly earnings of $0.01 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations of ($0.09) EPS, with a revenue of $421.90 million against forecasts of $417.27 million.
• As of the latest reports, Spire has an average analyst rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.80, with one Strong Buy and three Buy ratings among the analysts covering the stock.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $81.00 to $76.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would suggest a potential downside of 3.64% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Spire from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 price objective on Spire and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $76.00 price target (down from $81.00) on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.80.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SR traded up $0.08 during trading on Thursday, reaching $78.87. 209,157 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 457,944. Spire has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $79.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $76.06 and a 200-day moving average of $75.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.70.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.10. Spire had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 11.56%.The firm had revenue of $421.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $417.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.14) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Spire has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.400-4.60 EPS. Analysts forecast that Spire will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Spire

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Spire during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 79,381 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,801,000 after purchasing an additional 3,090 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Spire by 80.3% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,431 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 2,865 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Spire during the second quarter worth $400,000. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its position in shares of Spire by 198.2% during the second quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 29,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,155,000 after acquiring an additional 19,627 shares during the period. 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.

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