Boston Partners Buys 1,225 Shares of Spire Inc. $SR

Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 4.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,225 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in Spire were worth $1,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Spire by 1,957.1% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Spire during the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its stake in Spire by 2,648.0% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 687 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Spire by 75.2% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Spire by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spire Price Performance

SR opened at $87.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.76. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.44 and a 12-month high of $91.11.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.46) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $334.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $439.56 million. Spire had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 8.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.54) earnings per share. Spire has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.650-5.850 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 11th. This is a positive change from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research upgraded Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho upped their target price on Spire from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $91.00 price target on Spire and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Spire in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.08.

About Spire

Spire Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the purchase, retail distribution, and sale of natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and other end-users of natural gas in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Gas Utility, Gas Marketing, and Midstream. It is also involved in the marketing of natural gas and related services; and transportation and storage of natural gas.