Spire (NYSE:SR) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Spire from “strong sell” to “sell,” while broader analyst sentiment remains more favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $94.50 target price.
• Spire’s latest quarterly results beat expectations: adjusted loss per share was $0.26 versus the estimated $0.32 loss, revenue reached $420.2 million, and sales increased 19.2% year over year.
• The stock opened at $82.12, up 1.6%, and is held predominantly by institutions, which own 87.36% of outstanding shares; insiders own 2.26%.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

SR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Mizuho initiated coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Spire from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. TD Cowen began coverage on Spire in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a "hold" rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $85.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.50.

Spire Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE SR opened at $82.12 on Friday. Spire has a 12-month low of $73.91 and a 12-month high of $95.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.52.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Spire had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 8.65%. The firm had revenue of $420.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $394.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.01 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Spire has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.900-4.100 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Spire will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In other news, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was 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 owned 14,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,150,890.45. The trade was a 21.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $78.46 per share, for a total transaction of $39,230.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 8,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $627,680. The trade was a 6.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 2.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SR. Optima Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Spire in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Spire during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Spire Company Profile

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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