Short Interest in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Decreases By 14.4%

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 1,604,273 shares, a decrease of 14.4% from the February 12th total of 1,874,842 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 357,296 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 357,296 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days. Currently, 2.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Spire by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,348,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its position in shares of Spire by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Spire by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $474,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in Spire by 0.8% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 17,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC raised its position in Spire by 4.6% in the third quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Stock Performance

SR stock traded down $0.31 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $91.81. 347,997 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 341,456. Spire has a twelve month low of $69.94 and a twelve month high of $94.27. The company has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.15. Spire had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 10.95%.The firm had revenue of $762.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $785.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. Spire has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.650-5.850 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Spire will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SR. Mizuho upped their price target on Spire from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Spire from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Spire in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Spire from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.70.

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.