Spire - SR Stock Forecast, Price & News

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 in two segments, Gas Utility and Gas Marketing. It is also involved in the marketing of natural gas. In addition, the company engages in the transportation of propane through its propane pipeline; compression of natural gas; risk management; and other activities. Further, it provides physical natural gas storage services. The company was formerly known as The Laclede Group, Inc. and changed its name to Spire Inc. in April 2016. Spire Inc. was founded in 1857 and is based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SR traded down $0.85 on Monday, hitting $72.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 355,501. Spire has a 12 month low of $59.60 and a 12 month high of $79.24. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.29. The stock's 50-day moving average is $73.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.01. Spire had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 10.02%. The company had revenue of $448.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $323.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 36.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Spire will post 3.91 EPS for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 4th. Investors of record on Monday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.685 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 9th. This represents a $2.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. Spire's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SR shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Spire from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 11th. Mizuho upped their price target on Spire from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Spire from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 19th. Finally, Sidoti lowered Spire from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Spire has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.33.

Insider Activity at Spire

In other news, EVP Steven P. Rasche bought 1,703 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $24.09 per share, with a total value of $41,025.27. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $228,855. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Steven P. Rasche bought 1,703 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.09 per share, with a total value of $41,025.27. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $228,855. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 2,211 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.35, for a total value of $164,387.85. Following the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 1,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $98,662.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.97% of the company's stock.