Spire (NYSE:SR) Director Purchases $40,250.00 in Stock

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Director Paul Koonce purchased 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $80.50 per share, for a total transaction of $40,250.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $603,750. This trade represents a 7.14% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Spire Stock Performance

SR stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $81.07. 280,972 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 386,412. The firm has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.16. Spire Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.24 and a 1-year high of $95.31.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Spire had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SR. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in Spire during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Spire during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Optima Capital LLC purchased a new position in Spire during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Spire during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Spire by 186.8% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on SR. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Spire from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $96.00 price target on shares of Spire in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.22.

About Spire

Spire Inc (NYSE: SR), formerly known as The Laclede Group, is a regulated natural gas distribution company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Through its three operating divisions—Spire Missouri, Spire Alabama and Spire Mississippi—the company delivers natural gas to more than 1.7 million residential, commercial and industrial customers. Spire’s service territory spans key markets in the central and southern United States, including metropolitan St. Louis, central Alabama and central Mississippi.

Founded in 1857 as the Laclede Gas Light Company, the business has grown through strategic acquisitions, notably Alabama Gas Corporation in 2013 and Mississippi Gas in 2016.