Spire Inc. $SR Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in Spire Inc. by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 30,008 shares and leaving it with 306,667 shares worth about $25.4 million.
• Spire reported better-than-expected earnings for its latest quarter, posting EPS of $3.76 versus the $3.72 estimate, though revenue of $1.02 billion came in below expectations.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, equal to a 4.0% annual yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $96.22.

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its position in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 306,667 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 30,008 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.52% of Spire worth $25,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SR. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Spire by 10.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 212,438 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,623,000 after purchasing an additional 19,373 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Spire in the 1st quarter valued at about $9,636,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Spire by 1,031.5% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 611 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Spire by 75.8% in the 2nd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 4,658 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 2,009 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Spire by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 585,919 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,766,000 after acquiring an additional 8,726 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $85.81 per share, for a total transaction of $171,620.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.26% of the company's stock.

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 Performance

NYSE SR opened at $82.42 on Monday. Spire Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.24 and a 1-year high of $95.31. The company has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $89.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 13.97%.Spire's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SR shares. TD Cowen started coverage on Spire in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Spire from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $96.00 price target on shares of Spire in a 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.22.

Spire Profile

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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