Strs Ohio Invests $1.27 Million in Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has acquired a new stake in Spire Inc. by purchasing 16,200 shares valued at approximately $1.27 million in the first quarter.
• Spire reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.01, surpassing analyst estimates of ($0.09), along with a year-over-year revenue increase of 1.9% to $421.90 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.785, translating to an annualized yield of 4.1%, with a dividend payout ratio of 67.82%.

Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 16,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,268,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP bought a new position in Spire in the 1st quarter worth $50,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter worth $52,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted 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 worth $54,000 after buying an additional 662 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Spire by 66.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 727 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted 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 worth $63,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Spire Trading Up 0.1%

SR traded up $0.08 on Friday, hitting $76.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,214,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 438,727. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $61.56 and a 12-month high of $79.81. The company has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a PE ratio of 16.52, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.70. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $75.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.38.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.10. The business had revenue of $421.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $417.27 million. Spire had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 11.56%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.14) earnings per share. Spire has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.400-4.60 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Spire's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.82%.

About Spire

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.