Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Spire a “Moderate Buy,” with five buy ratings, two strong-buy ratings and five holds. The average 12-month price target is $94, versus a recent share price of $82.59.
• Spire’s latest quarterly results beat expectations: its $0.26 per-share loss was narrower than the projected $0.32 loss, while revenue rose 19.2% year over year to $420.2 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, equivalent to $3.30 annually and a 4.0% yield, with a 36.79% payout ratio.

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five 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 objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $94.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Spire from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Spire from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. BTIG Research set a $101.00 price objective on Spire in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Spire in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock.

Trending Headlines about Spire

Here are the key news stories impacting Spire this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its EPS forecasts for Spire’s fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 to a loss of $0.98 from a loss of $1.00, for fiscal 2027 to $5.49 from $5.47, for the second quarter of fiscal 2027 to $4.07 from $4.06, and for the first quarter of fiscal 2028 to $2.10 from $2.06. These increases suggest modestly improved expectations for earnings and could support investor sentiment. Spire analyst estimate updates
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also lifted their fiscal 2028 EPS forecast to $6.11 from $6.07, reinforcing expectations for continued earnings growth beyond the current year. The current consensus forecast is $4.01 per share for fiscal 2026.
• Positive Sentiment: Spire’s most recent quarterly results exceeded expectations: the company reported a loss of $0.26 per share versus the projected loss of $0.32, while revenue of $420.2 million surpassed the $394.6 million consensus estimate. Revenue increased 19.2% year over year. Why Is Spire Up Since Last Earnings Report?
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks trimmed its second-quarter fiscal 2028 EPS estimate to $4.26 from $4.27 and its third-quarter fiscal 2028 estimate to $0.18 from $0.19. The changes are small, but they indicate that some future-period expectations have softened.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Paul Koonce bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought 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 approximately $627,680. The trade was a 6.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Ryan Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,150,890.45. The trade was a 21.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 2.26% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 19,373 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the first quarter worth $9,636,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 1,031.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 611 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 75.8% during 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 during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 1.5% during 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of SR stock opened at $82.59 on Friday. Spire has a twelve month low of $74.49 and a twelve month high of $95.31. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.54.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by $0.06. Spire had a return on equity of 8.65% and a net margin of 21.48%.The firm had revenue of $420.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $394.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.01 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. Spire has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.900-4.100 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Spire will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Spire's 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.

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