Spire (NYSE:SR) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $91.50 and last traded at $91.5810, with a volume of 68443 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $90.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on SR shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Spire from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Spire from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Bank of America raised shares of Spire from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $76.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Spire from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.36.

Spire Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.67.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.15. Spire had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 9.43%. The firm had revenue of $762.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $785.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. Spire’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Spire has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.650-5.850 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Spire’s payout ratio is currently 71.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Optima Capital LLC bought a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Spire during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 186.8% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

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.