Spire (NYSE:SR) Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to "Strong-Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Spire (NYSE:SR) has been upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by Jefferies Financial Group, indicating a positive shift in market perception.
• The company has an average price target of $80.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from various analysts, with some projecting earnings growth for FY 2025.
• Spire's latest quarterly earnings report showed a surprise profit of $0.01 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue increase of 1.9% year-over-year.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $81.00 price objective on Spire and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Spire from $81.00 to $76.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $76.00 price target (down from $81.00) on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Spire in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.00.

Spire Price Performance

Spire stock opened at $83.60 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.69. Spire has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $83.92.

Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.10. Spire had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 8.66%. The company had revenue of $421.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $417.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.14) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Spire has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.400-4.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Spire will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Spire

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,870 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Spire by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 17,461 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,274,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in Spire by 0.6% in the second quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 25,636 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,871,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Spire by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 914 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Spire by 5.5% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,672 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.