Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Makes New Investment in Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. invested approximately $30.32 million in Spire Inc., acquiring 387,500 shares, representing about 0.66% ownership of the company.
• Spire Inc. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.785, which will be paid to shareholders on October 2nd, yielding an annualized dividend of 4.2%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Spire's stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.20.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 387,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $30,322,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.66% of Spire as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SR. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the 1st quarter worth approximately $73,254,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the 1st quarter worth approximately $69,889,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,083,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Spire by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,022,870 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,381,000 after acquiring an additional 229,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sourcerock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,567,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Stock Performance

SR stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $75.59. The company had a trading volume of 67,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 450,051. The firm has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.37. Spire Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $79.81. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $75.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.41.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $421.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $417.27 million. Spire had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 8.66%. The company's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.14) earnings per share. Spire has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.400-4.60 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be issued a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 11th. Spire's payout ratio is presently 67.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on SR. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (down previously from $81.00) on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Spire from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Spire in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 price target on shares of Spire and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Spire has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.20.

About Spire

Spire Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the purchase, retail distribution, and sale of natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and other end-users of natural gas in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Gas Utility, Gas Marketing, and Midstream. It is also involved in the marketing of natural gas and related services; and transportation and storage of natural gas.