Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $3.88 Million Stock Position in Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Spire Inc. by 7.5% in the second quarter, owning approximately $3.88 million worth of shares by the end of the period.
• Spire reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.01 for the last quarter, which surpassed analysts' expectations, along with revenue of $421.90 million, up 1.9% from the prior year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.785 per share, representing a yield of 3.8% for shareholders.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,185 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 3,703 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned approximately 0.09% of Spire worth $3,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SR. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,870 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 914 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,672 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,210 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 4,352 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of SR stock opened at $83.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm's 50-day moving average is $77.39 and its 200-day moving average is $75.85. The stock has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.69. Spire Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $83.95.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $421.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $417.27 million. Spire had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 8.66%. Spire's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.14) EPS. Spire has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.400-4.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 11th were given a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Spire in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $76.00 price objective (down from $81.00) on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Spire from $81.00 to $76.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Spire and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.00.

Spire Profile

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.

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