Commerce Bank Makes New $1.81 Million Investment in Spire Inc. $SR

Commerce Bank purchased a new position in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 23,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,813,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Spire by 10.0% during 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 buying an additional 19,373 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Spire in the first quarter valued at about $9,636,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Spire by 1,031.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 8,726 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Spire from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Spire from $96.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.00.

Spire Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of SR stock opened at $83.19 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. Spire Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.91 and a 1 year high of $95.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $80.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.27, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Spire Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $78.46 per share, for a total transaction of $39,230.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $627,680. This trade represents a 6.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total value of $307,709.22. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,295 shares in the company, valued at $1,150,890.45. This trade represents a 21.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Spire 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.