Spire (NYSE:SR) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) reached a new 52-week high of $84.07, showing strong market interest with a volume of 361,863 shares traded recently.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Spire's stock, with UBS Group maintaining a "buy" rating and a target price increase to $95.00, while Morgan Stanley and Bank of America lowered their price targets and ratings.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.01, beating estimates and demonstrating a year-over-year revenue growth of 1.9% amid its strategic outlook for FY 2025 set at 4.400-4.60 EPS.

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $84.07 and last traded at $83.99, with a volume of 361863 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Spire Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $77.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.95.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.10. The company had revenue of $421.90 million for 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%.Spire's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.14) EPS. Spire has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.400-4.60 EPS. On average, analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Thursday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Spire's payout ratio is currently 67.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SR. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Spire by 1,957.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 432 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Spire during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 1,031.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 611 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in Spire in the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Spire in the 1st quarter worth about $50,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spire Company Profile

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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