Spire (NYSE:SR) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) from a strong sell rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Spire in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Spire in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.50.

Spire Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of SR opened at $80.89 on Friday. Spire has a 1 year low of $73.91 and a 1 year high of $95.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.94. The firm has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.52.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $420.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $394.62 million. Spire had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 8.65%. The business’s revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.01 earnings per share. 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 fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $78.46 per share, for a total transaction of $39,230.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $627,680. This represents a 6.67% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,150,890.45. This trade represents a 21.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Optima Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management purchased a new position in Spire during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.