Millennium Management LLC Purchases 274,124 Shares of Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Spire Inc. by 110.4%, owning a total of 522,323 shares after purchasing an additional 274,124 shares during the first quarter.
• Spire Inc. reported a profit of $0.01 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations of ($0.09), alongside a revenue of $421.90 million, which was higher than analyst forecasts.
• The company declares a quarterly dividend of $0.785, reflecting an annualized yield of 4.1%, payable on October 2nd to investors recorded by September 11th.

Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 110.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 522,323 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 274,124 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.89% of Spire worth $40,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Spire in the 1st quarter valued at $50,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its holdings in Spire by 2,648.0% in 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Spire by 66.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 727 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Spire by 103.8% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 803 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on SR. Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (down from $81.00) on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, August 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 price objective on Spire and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Spire from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Spire in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.20.

Spire Price Performance

SR stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $76.10. 523,639 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 396,559. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.70. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $79.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $75.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.42.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $417.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.14) EPS. Spire's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Spire has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.400-4.60 EPS. As a group, analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Thursday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio is 67.82%.

Spire Company 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.