Spire (NYSE:SR) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Spire Inc. recently reached a new 12-month high at $80.52, although analysts have expressed mixed feelings about the stock, with target prices adjusted downward by firms like Morgan Stanley and Bank of America.
• The company reported earnings of $0.01 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, and has set FY 2025 guidance at $4.40-$4.60 EPS.
• Spire announced a quarterly dividend of $0.785 per share, which will be paid to shareholders on October 2nd, reflecting a 3.9% yield.

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $80.52 and last traded at $80.07, with a volume of 87007 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $78.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Spire from $81.00 to $76.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 target price on Spire and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $76.00 target price (down previously from $81.00) on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.80.

Spire Stock Up 1.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $76.12 and a 200 day moving average of $75.45.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%.Spire's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.14) earnings per share. Spire has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.400-4.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.82%.

Institutional Trading of Spire

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Spire in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in Spire by 4.1% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 79,381 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,801,000 after purchasing an additional 3,090 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Spire by 80.3% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,431 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 2,865 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Spire in the second quarter valued at approximately $400,000. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its stake in Spire by 198.2% in the second quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 29,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,155,000 after purchasing an additional 19,627 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is 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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