Magellan Asset Management Ltd Invests $4.53 Million in Spire Inc. $SR

Magellan Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 57,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,525,000. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned about 0.10% of Spire at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Spire in the 1st quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Spire by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on SR shares. Weiss Ratings raised Spire from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Spire from $96.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.00.

Spire Trading Up 0.1%

Spire stock opened at $80.97 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $80.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.84. The company has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.52. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.91 and a 52 week high of $95.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

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

Spire Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total value of $307,709.22. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,295 shares in the company, valued at $1,150,890.45. This represents a 21.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $78.46 per share, with a total value of $39,230.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $627,680. This trade represents a 6.67% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 2.26% 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.