Bank of America Corp DE Has $34.92 Million Position in Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its Spire stake by 3.7% in the first quarter, selling 14,849 shares and retaining 385,682 shares valued at approximately $34.92 million. Institutional investors collectively own 87.36% of Spire.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Spire, with an average price target of $94.50 compared with the stock’s recent price of $82.86.
• Spire exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $0.26 versus a $0.32 loss estimate and revenue of $420.2 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, representing a 4.0% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE trimmed its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 385,682 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 14,849 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.65% of Spire worth $34,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Spire during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Spire in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on SR. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Spire from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Monday, May 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $96.00 price objective on the stock. BTIG Research set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on Spire in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.50.

Spire Price Performance

Spire stock opened at $82.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 9.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $80.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.89. Spire Inc. has a one year low of $73.91 and a one year high of $95.31.

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

Spire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid 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 payout ratio is presently 36.79%.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In other Spire news, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total value of $307,709.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,150,890.45. This represents a 21.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $78.46 per share, with a total value of $39,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $627,680. The trade was a 6.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 2.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.

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