Spire (NYSE:SR) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $94.46 and last traded at $94.0110, with a volume of 61283 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $92.28.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Spire in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Spire from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Spire from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Spire from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.78.

Spire Trading Up 0.7%

The company’s 50-day moving average is $90.10 and its 200-day moving average is $86.37. 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 firm has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is 71.74%.

Institutional Trading of Spire

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Spire in the 4th quarter worth $1,490,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Spire by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Spire by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Spire by 900.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

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.