Spire’s (SR) “Sector Perform” Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada restated their sector perform rating on shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $65.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a buy rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $62.25.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR opened at $60.91 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.76 and a 200 day moving average of $59.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Spire has a one year low of $53.77 and a one year high of $70.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.51.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $756.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $688.88 million. Spire had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Spire will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 4.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $393,423.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total transaction of $73,223.82. Following the sale, the treasurer now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total transaction of $75,220.22. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Spire

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Spire by 2.7% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Spire by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Spire by 9.0% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Spire by 4.8% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 26,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,868,000 after buying an additional 1,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its holdings in Spire by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 61,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,635,000 after buying an additional 7,086 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.