Jupiter Topco LLC Makes New Investment in Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• Jupiter Topco LLC acquired 26,252 shares of Spire valued at approximately $2.05 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 87.36% of the utility.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with Spire carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $94, above its reported $83.25 share price.
• Spire reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with revenue rising 19.2% year over year, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, representing a 4.0% annualized yield.

Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 26,252 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,050,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Spire during the second quarter worth about $667,642,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in Spire by 158.1% in the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,000,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,990,000 after acquiring an additional 612,500 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Spire in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,993,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Spire during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,226,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Spire during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,427,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on SR shares. Mizuho initiated coverage on Spire in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Spire from $96.00 to $91.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Spire from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $101.00 price objective on Spire in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.00.

Insider Activity at Spire

In other Spire news, Director Paul Koonce purchased 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $627,680. The trade was a 6.67% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Ryan Hyman sold 3,822 shares of Spire 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 14,295 shares in the company, valued at $1,150,890.45. This trade represents a 21.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 2.26% of the company's stock.

Spire Stock Up 0.6%

Spire stock opened at $83.25 on Friday. Spire Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.91 and a fifty-two week high of $95.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $81.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.57. The stock has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.54.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 8.65%. The firm had revenue of $420.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $394.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.01 EPS. The company'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. Research analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Spire's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.79%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source