Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Stock Holdings in Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp massively increased its position in Spire Inc. during the first quarter, boosting its stake by 8,790.6% to 52,721 shares valued at about $4.77 million.
• Spire reported quarterly earnings of $3.76 per share, beating analyst expectations, though revenue of $1.02 billion came in below estimates. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, implying a 4.1% annual yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but generally positive, with average price target around $94.30 and a “Moderate Buy” rating. Recent updates included Mizuho starting coverage with an outperform rating, while some other firms trimmed their views.

Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 8,790.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,721 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 52,128 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned 0.09% of Spire worth $4,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Optima Capital LLC purchased a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Spire in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Spire

Here are the key news stories impacting Spire this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple future earnings estimates for Spire, including FY2027, Q1 2027, Q3 2027, and Q4 2026, signaling improved longer-term profit expectations.
• Neutral Sentiment: The revisions were mixed across different periods, with some later-quarter estimates increased while others were only slightly reduced.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks lowered its Q3 2026 EPS forecast and trimmed a few other quarters, indicating near-term earnings may be softer than previously expected.

Spire Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:SR opened at $81.46 on Friday. Spire Inc. has a 52-week low of $71.24 and a 52-week high of $95.31. The stock has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.32, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a fifty day moving average of $81.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.04. Spire had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 13.97%.The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.60 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. Spire's payout ratio is presently 58.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SR shares. Mizuho began coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Spire in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Spire from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Spire from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 price target (up from $84.00) on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Spire currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.30.

Insider Activity at Spire

In related news, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $78.46 per share, with a total value of $39,230.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 8,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $627,680. The trade was a 6.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders bought 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $251,100. Corporate insiders own 2.26% 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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