Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Acquires 57,487 Shares of Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Spire by 10.7%, buying 57,487 shares to hold 594,240 shares (about 1.01% of the company) worth roughly $49.1 million; institutional investors now own about 87.36% of the stock.
• Spire reported quarterly EPS of $1.77, beating estimates while revenue of $762.2 million missed expectations, and the company set FY2026 guidance at 5.25–5.45 EPS and FY2027 guidance at 5.65–5.85 EPS.
• Spire pays a quarterly dividend of $0.825 (annualized $3.30) for a yield of about 3.6% with a 71.7% payout ratio; analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price near $92.78, with some firms raising targets to ~$100.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 594,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 57,487 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 1.01% of Spire worth $49,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Spire by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,411,042 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $522,628,000 after buying an additional 123,584 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Spire by 1.9% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in Spire by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,220,171 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $99,468,000 after buying an additional 85,004 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Spire by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,021,878 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $83,303,000 after buying an additional 14,740 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its position in Spire by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,003,262 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $81,786,000 after buying an additional 29,135 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Spire Stock Performance

SR opened at $92.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Spire Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.94 and a 1 year high of $95.31. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $90.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.84.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $762.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $785.54 million. Spire had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 10.95%.Spire's quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. Spire has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.650-5.850 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Spire's payout ratio is currently 71.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Spire from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Spire from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Spire from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.78.

About Spire

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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