Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) - Zacks Research lifted their Q2 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Spire in a report released on Wednesday, April 17th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $3.84 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $3.72. The consensus estimate for Spire's current full-year earnings is $4.35 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Spire's Q2 2025 earnings at $3.84 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.55 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $3.55 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.83 EPS.
SR has been the subject of several other research reports. Mizuho decreased their price target on Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Spire in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.25.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on SR
Spire Stock Up 2.1 %
Shares of SR traded up $1.22 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $59.40. 371,024 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 506,502. The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.51. The firm's 50 day moving average is $59.71 and its 200-day moving average is $59.77. Spire has a 52 week low of $53.77 and a 52 week high of $70.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.55.
Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $756.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.88 million. Spire had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 8.11%. The firm's revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.55 EPS.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Spire by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,345 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Spire by 31.8% during the first quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 639 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Spire by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 64,144 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,999,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Spire by 2.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 9,888 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Spire by 3.4% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 6,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total value of $73,223.82. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total transaction of $73,223.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total value of $75,220.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,768 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $393,423.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.86% of the company's stock.
Spire Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $0.755 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.08%. Spire's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.40%.
About Spire
(
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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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