Man Group plc Invests $5.31 Million in Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• Man Group purchased 68,036 Spire shares worth approximately $5.31 million in the second quarter, giving it about a 0.12% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 87.36% of Spire.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with Spire receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $94, above its reported opening price of $82.68.
• Spire exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting an adjusted loss of $0.26 per share and $420.2 million in revenue, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.825, equivalent to a 4.0% annual yield.

Man Group plc purchased a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 68,036 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,313,000. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.12% of Spire as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Spire during the 2nd quarter valued at about $667,642,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,430,368 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $531,791,000 after buying an additional 19,326 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 1.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,351,641 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $247,162,000 after buying an additional 61,851 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Spire by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,579,856 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $130,672,000 after acquiring an additional 47,106 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Spire by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,240,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $102,581,000 after acquiring an additional 20,224 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SR. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Spire from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Spire from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Spire news, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total transaction of $307,709.22. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,150,890.45. The trade was a 21.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased 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 approximately $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 owned by corporate insiders.

Spire Stock Up 0.1%

SR stock opened at $82.68 on Monday. The company's 50 day moving average is $81.12 and its 200 day moving average is $85.76. The stock has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. Spire Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.91 and a 1-year high of $95.31.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported ($0.26) earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $420.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $394.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.01 earnings per share. Spire'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. Sell-side analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

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

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