Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Buys Shares of 118,826 Spire Inc. $SR

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 118,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,279,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. owned 0.20% of Spire at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SR. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the first quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Spire by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Spire stock opened at $80.97 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $80.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.84. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.91 and a 12-month high of $95.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a PE ratio of 9.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.52.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.32) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $420.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $394.62 million. Spire had a return on equity of 8.65% and a net margin of 21.48%.The company’s revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.01 EPS. Spire has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.900-4.100 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Spire’s payout ratio is currently 36.79%.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $78.46 per share, for a total transaction of $39,230.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $627,680. The trade was a 6.67% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total transaction of $307,709.22. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,295 shares in the company, valued at $1,150,890.45. This trade represents a 21.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Spire from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Spire in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Spire from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, June 26th. Two investment 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, Spire currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.00.

About Spire

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.