Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $94.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SR shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Spire from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Spire in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In other Spire news, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total transaction of $307,709.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,150,890.45. This trade represents a 21.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $78.46 per share, with a total value of $39,230.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $627,680. The trade was a 6.67% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SR. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 212,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,623,000 after purchasing an additional 19,373 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Spire during the first quarter valued at about $9,636,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Spire by 1,031.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Spire by 75.8% in the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 4,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 2,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Spire by 1.5% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 585,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,766,000 after buying an additional 8,726 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Spire Stock Performance

Spire stock opened at $83.23 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $80.38 and a 200-day moving average of $85.88. The firm has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.52. Spire has a 1-year low of $73.91 and a 1-year high of $95.31.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $420.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $394.62 million. Spire had a return on equity of 8.65% and a net margin of 21.48%.Spire’s quarterly revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.01 earnings per share. Spire has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.900-4.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Spire will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is 36.79%.

Spire Company Profile

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.