Mizuho Lowers Spire (NYSE:SR) to Neutral

Spire (NYSE:SR) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Mizuho from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $62.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their prior price target of $64.00. Mizuho’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 1.13% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on SR. UBS Group initiated coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, April 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $57.50 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.72.

Spire Stock Down 0.6 %

SR traded down $0.37 on Thursday, hitting $61.31. 441,248 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 371,742. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $60.22 and its 200-day moving average is $60.10. The company has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.61. Spire has a 12 month low of $53.77 and a 12 month high of $69.99.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Spire had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 9.05%. Spire’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.70 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Spire will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the treasurer now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $92,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the treasurer now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $92,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $393,423.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SR. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 85.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 48,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after acquiring an additional 22,216 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 48.5% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 6,867 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.