Spire (NYSE:SR) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.10 EPS

Key Points

• Spire (NYSE:SR) reported earnings of $0.01 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.15, compared to a loss of ($0.14) EPS in the same quarter last year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.785 per share, which will yield approximately 4.2% annually, with a payout ratio of 77.34%.
• A number of analysts have various ratings for Spire, with an average rating of "Hold" and a target price of $78.60, indicating moderate growth expectations.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The utilities provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.10, Zacks reports. The business 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 for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.14) earnings per share. Spire updated its FY 2025 guidance to 4.400-4.60 EPS.

Spire Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of SR stock traded up $0.33 on Friday, reaching $76.03. 496,052 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 597,294. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $74.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.66. Spire has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $79.81.

Spire Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 target price on Spire and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Spire in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Spire from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Spire has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Spire stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 212,438 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 19,373 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned 0.36% of Spire worth $16,623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.