Fox Run Management L.L.C. Makes New Investment in Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• Fox Run Management has invested approximately $667,000 in Spire Inc. by acquiring 8,520 shares during the first quarter, highlighting growing institutional interest in the company.
• Spire recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.785 per share with an annualized yield of 4.1%, scheduled to be paid on October 2nd.
• Analysts have varying ratings on Spire's stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.20.

Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 8,520 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $667,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SR. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of Spire by 2,648.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 687 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Spire by 66.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 727 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Spire by 103.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 803 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Spire by 21.7% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 914 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on SR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Spire from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 target price on shares of Spire and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $76.00 price target (down previously from $81.00) on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Spire in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.20.

Spire Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of Spire stock traded up $1.6030 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $77.6030. 133,960 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 453,892. The stock has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $74.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Spire Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $79.81.

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

Spire Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio is 67.82%.

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.