Spire Inc. $SR Shares Acquired by Quantinno Capital Management LP

Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 104.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,257 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 23,149 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP owned 0.08% of Spire worth $4,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Spire by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,430,368 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $531,791,000 after purchasing an additional 19,326 shares during the period. 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 valued at $247,162,000 after buying an additional 61,851 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Spire by 3.1% during 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 buying an additional 47,106 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Spire by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,240,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $102,581,000 after buying an additional 20,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings in Spire by 70.0% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,123,220 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $92,890,000 after acquiring an additional 462,500 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Spire in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Spire from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spire has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.50.

Spire Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:SR opened at $82.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a PE ratio of 9.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.52. 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 current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock's 50-day moving average is $80.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.94.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.32) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $420.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $394.62 million. Spire had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 8.65%. The firm's revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.01 earnings per share. Spire has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.900-4.100 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $78.46 per share, for a total transaction of $39,230.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,680. The trade was a 6.67% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly 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. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 2.26% of the company's stock.

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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