Spire (NYSE:SR) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $94.27 and last traded at $93.23, with a volume of 17622 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on SR shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Spire in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Spire from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Spire from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Spire from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Spire has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.70.

Spire Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $87.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.64.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.15. Spire had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 9.43%. The firm had revenue of $762.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $785.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Spire’s payout ratio is 71.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Spire by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,348,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its position in shares of Spire by 2.6% in the third quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $449,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Spire by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $474,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Spire by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 17,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,274,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Spire by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. 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.