According to a recent report from Bloomberg.com, &Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) has received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock. Among these analysts, one has given a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. It is worth mentioning that the average 12-month target price among analysts who have issued reports on the stock in the past year is $67.50.
In other news related to &Spire Inc., Director Paul D. Koonce recently purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock. The transaction took place on Thursday, August 17th, with each share being acquired at an average price of $59.27, resulting in a total value of $296,350. Following this acquisition, Mr. Koonce now owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $296,350. The transaction was disclosed through a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), which can be accessed on their official website.
Alongside Director Paul D. Koonce’s purchase, EVP Steven P. Rasche also acquired 3,100 shares of Spire stock in a separate transaction on Thursday, September 7th. The shares were obtained at an average price of $30.82 per share, totaling $95,542 in value. After completing this purchase, Mr. Rasche now holds 34,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at around $1,068,375.
It is important to note that over the last three months alone, insiders have bought a total of 9,100 shares of Spire stock worth approximately $450,592. This suggests strong interest and confidence from those within the company itself as they increase their personal investments into its future growth potential.
For investors looking for additional information about Spire Inc., there is an opportunity to review the company’s latest report. Spire (NYSE:SR) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported earnings per share of ($0.42) for the quarter, falling short of the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by a significant margin of $0.40. During this period, the firm registered revenue totaling $418.50 million, slightly lower than analysts’ expectations of $428.86 million.
Moreover, it is worth noting that Spire had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 8.81% during this reporting period, indicating its financial performance as moderately positive even though earnings fell below estimates. Comparatively, when compared to the same quarter last year, the company experienced a decline in revenue by 6.6%. In the previous year’s corresponding quarter, Spire earned $0.01 per share.
Equity research analysts project that Spire will post earnings per share of 4.18 for this fiscal year.
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Spire (SR): Mixed Reviews and Shifting Holdings Plague Stock’s Outlook
As of September 27, 2023, Spire (SR) has experienced mixed reviews from equities research analysts. The Street downgraded Spire’s rating from a “b” to a “c+” in their research note on August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company also lowered their target price from $71.00 to $64.00 on August 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada followed suit by dropping the price objective from $67.00 to $66.00 on September 6th, giving the company a “sector perform” rating. StockNews.com started covering Spire on August 17th and assigned a “sell” rating to the stock. Finally, Guggenheim decreased the price objective even further from $69.00 to $65.00 on July 7th.
A significant shift in holdings is observed as several large investors have recently adjusted their positions in SR. Dean Capital Management increased its stake by 23.9% during the second quarter and now owns 24,225 shares worth around $1,537,000 after acquiring an additional 4,676 shares during that period. Similarly, Comerica Bank entered the scene with a new acquisition valued at approximately $644,000 in the second quarter.
Osaic Holdings Inc., another investor in SR, raised its position by 2%, holding onto 9,888 shares worth $627,000 after adding an extra 190 shares last quarter alone. Meanwhile, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky witnessed a growth in its holdings by 10.8%, taking ownership of about $562,000 worth of shares after purchasing an additional 865 shares during that period.
Lastly, Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings by an impressive 23.9% during the second quarter as well and now possesses around 24,225 shares valued at approximately $1,537,000 after acquiring another 4,676 shares recently.
It should be noted that approximately 87.36% of Spire’s stock is now in the hands of institutional investors and hedge funds, indicating a high level of interest.
On September 27th, SR opened at $57.27 per share. The company currently has a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.40, suggesting a somewhat challenging financial situation. Their debt-to-equity ratio stands at 1.32, which may raise some concerns among investors.
Over the past year, Spire’s stock has experienced fluctuations between its lowest point of $57.19 and its highest peak at $75.83.
Regarding market capitalization, Spire currently holds a value of $3.01 billion with a PE ratio of 13.29 and a P/E/G ratio of 3.31—both metrics commonly used to evaluate stocks’ relative value. Additionally, the company boasts a beta of 0.49, indicating slightly less volatility compared to the overall market.
Moving averages can also provide insights into the stock’s performance over time. As of September 27th, Spire holds a moving average price of $60.31 for the past 50 days and $64.62 for the past 200 days.
Overall, Spire faces perplexing circumstances with mixed analyst ratings and adjustments to holdings by large investors in recent months, resulting in an unclear outlook for potential investors seeking growth in this sector.
