Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Short Interest Update

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) saw a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,865,906 shares, a drop of 13.7% from the January 15th total of 2,163,020 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 382,696 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.9 days. Based on an average trading volume of 382,696 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.9 days. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho boosted their target price on Spire from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Spire from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Spire from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Spire in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, BTIG Research raised shares of Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.36.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of SR stock traded down $0.23 on Tuesday, reaching $91.61. 64,226 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 389,341. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $84.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.47. Spire has a 1 year low of $69.94 and a 1 year high of $92.53. The company has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.61.

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

Spire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Spire’s payout ratio is 71.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Spire by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,348,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its stake in shares of Spire by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in Spire by 0.8% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 17,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Intrua Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Spire by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Spire by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.