US Bancorp DE Grows Position in Spire Inc. $SR

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Spire Inc. by 21.3%, now holding 20,035 shares valued at approximately $1.46 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Spire Inc. reported quarterly earnings of $0.01 per share, surpassing analyst expectations of a loss and revealing positive revenue growth of 1.9% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.785 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $3.14 and a yield of 3.7% based on the current stock price.

US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 21.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,035 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 3,517 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Spire were worth $1,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Spire by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 177,950 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $13,925,000 after buying an additional 4,576 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Spire by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,833 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Spire by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,938 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Spire by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,305 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spire Stock Down 0.7%

SR stock opened at $84.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.34, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.69. Spire Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $86.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.26 and a 200-day moving average of $76.06.

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

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Spire's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Spire in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Spire from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Spire from $81.00 to $76.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (down previously from $81.00) on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 price objective on Spire and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.36.

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.

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