Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Spire “Moderate Buy.” Five analysts recommend holding the stock, five recommend buying it and two give it a strong-buy rating; the average 12-month price target is $94.50.
• Spire reported quarterly revenue of $420.2 million and an adjusted loss of $0.26 per share, beating consensus estimates, while revenue rose 19.2% year over year. The company expects fiscal 2026 earnings of $3.90–$4.10 per share.
• Spire declared a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, equating to an annualized $3.30 payout and a 4.0% yield. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company, while insiders own 2.26%.

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $94.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Spire in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Spire in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Spire from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They set a "hold" rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total value of $307,709.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,295 shares in the company, valued at $1,150,890.45. The trade was a 21.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $78.46 per share, for a total transaction of $39,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $627,680. This represents a 6.67% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 2.26% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Spire

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted 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 valued at $16,623,000 after buying an additional 19,373 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Spire in the 1st quarter worth about $9,636,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Spire by 1,031.5% during 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 lifted its stake in Spire by 75.8% during 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. boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 1.5% during 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR opened at $82.34 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The business's 50 day moving average price is $80.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.92. Spire has a 52 week low of $73.91 and a 52 week high of $95.31. The stock has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.52.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.32) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $420.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $394.62 million. Spire had a return on equity of 8.65% and a net margin of 21.48%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.01 EPS. Spire has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.900-4.100 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Spire will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.79%.

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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