Spire Inc. $SR Shares Bought by Intech Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its Spire stake by 189.7% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 49,615 shares and bringing its total holdings to 75,767 shares worth about $6.27 million.
• Spire reported quarterly EPS of $3.76, beating analyst estimates, though revenue of $1.02 billion fell short of expectations. The company also said quarterly revenue rose 4.5% year over year.
• Spire declared a $0.825 quarterly dividend payable July 2, implying an annualized yield of about 4.0%, while analysts currently hold a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a target price of $96.22.

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 189.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 75,767 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 49,615 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned about 0.13% of Spire worth $6,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Spire by 0.3% in the fourth 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 increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 61,851 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 47,106 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Spire by 7.5% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,220,171 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $99,468,000 after purchasing an additional 85,004 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Spire by 1.5% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,021,878 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $83,303,000 after purchasing an additional 14,740 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Spire

Here are the key news stories impacting Spire this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised several longer-term earnings forecasts for Spire, including FY2028 EPS to $6.03 from $5.92 and Q2 2027 EPS to $4.29 from $3.92, suggesting improved profit expectations over time. Spire analyst estimate updates
• Positive Sentiment: Another report said Spire is benefiting from expanding regulated operations, including adding about 200,000 Tennessee customers and focusing more on core utility assets, which could support steadier earnings. Zacks article on regulated growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts at American Banking News said Spire has a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy,” which reinforces a generally favorable Street view but does not by itself change near-term fundamentals. Consensus recommendation article
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks also cut multiple near- and medium-term EPS estimates, including Q4 2026, Q3 2027, Q1 2027, FY2027, Q2 2028 and Q3 2027, signaling some softness in earnings expectations around the next few years. Spire analyst estimate reductions
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary also pointed to “unusual guidance” and a sell-off, indicating investors were disappointed by the outlook even though Spire recently beat EPS on its latest earnings release. Seeking Alpha sell-off article

Spire Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of Spire stock opened at $82.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.55. Spire Inc. has a one year low of $71.24 and a one year high of $95.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $89.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.40.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Spire had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.49%. Spire's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.60 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Spire from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Spire has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.22.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $85.81 per share, for a total transaction of $171,620.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 7,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $600,670. This trade represents a 40.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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