Analysts Offer Predictions for Spire's Q1 Earnings (NYSE:SR)

Key Points

• Zacks Research lowered its Q1 2027 EPS forecast for Spire to $1.57 from $1.77, while the broader full-year earnings estimate remains at $4.00 per share.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leaning positive: Spire has a Moderate Buy consensus with a $96.22 target price, though some firms recently trimmed targets and one rating was cut to sell.
• Spire recently beat EPS expectations in its latest quarter, and it also announced a $0.825 quarterly dividend, equal to an annualized yield of about 3.8%.

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) - Research analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2027 EPS estimates for shares of Spire in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $1.57 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.77. The consensus estimate for Spire's current full-year earnings is $4.00 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Spire's Q3 2027 earnings at $0.10 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $5.47 EPS and Q2 2028 earnings at $3.77 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $96.00 target price on shares of Spire in a report on Thursday, May 21st. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a "hold" rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Spire from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Spire from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Spire has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.22.

Spire Stock Performance

NYSE:SR opened at $85.79 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.08, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.56. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $89.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.48. Spire has a twelve month low of $71.24 and a twelve month high of $95.31.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. Spire had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.60 EPS.

Spire Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Spire's payout ratio is currently 58.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $85.81 per share, for a total transaction of $171,620.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 7,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $600,670. This represents a 40.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Spire by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 219,861 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $17,923,000 after purchasing an additional 38,875 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,414,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Spire by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 374,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,493,000 after buying an additional 88,154 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Spire by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 550,974 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $44,915,000 after buying an additional 27,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Spire by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,411,042 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $522,628,000 after buying an additional 123,584 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company's stock.

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.

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