Spire (NYSE:SR) Price Target Cut to $83.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Spire (NYSE:SR) had its price objective reduced by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $85.00 to $83.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 12.07% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Spire from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Spire from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.20.

Spire Stock Performance

NYSE:SR traded down $1.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $74.06. The stock had a trading volume of 94,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 394,027. The stock has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.50. Spire has a 12-month low of $57.77 and a 12-month high of $79.81.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.70 by ($0.10). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share. Spire’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Spire will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Spire in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of Spire by 431.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Spire during the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. 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.