Spire (NYSE:SR) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Spire Inc. shares reached a new 52-week high of $82.20, with a trading volume of 27,071 shares, after closing at $81.86 the previous day.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Spire, with price targets lowered by Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, while Weiss Ratings maintained a "buy" rating.
• Recently, Spire declared a quarterly dividend of $0.785 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.8%.

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $82.19 and last traded at $82.20, with a volume of 27071 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $81.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 price target on Spire and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (down previously from $81.00) on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Spire in a report on Saturday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.80.

Spire Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $76.60 and a 200 day moving average of $75.65. The company has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.69. 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 (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.10. Spire had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 8.66%. The business had revenue of $421.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $417.27 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.14) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Spire has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.400-4.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 11th were paid a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Spire by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,351,641 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $247,162,000 after acquiring an additional 61,851 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Spire by 1.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,512,167 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $110,386,000 after purchasing an additional 22,296 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in Spire by 7.7% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,135,167 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $82,856,000 after purchasing an additional 80,929 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its position in Spire by 32.8% during the second quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 1,030,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $75,225,000 after buying an additional 254,285 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in Spire by 158.1% during the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,000,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,990,000 after buying an additional 612,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

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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