Quantbot Technologies LP Acquires Shares of 21,451 Spire Inc. $SR

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 21,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,675,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Spire in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Spire in the first quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR opened at $82.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.19, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Spire Inc. has a one year low of $73.91 and a one year high of $95.31. The business has a fifty day moving average of $80.66 and a 200 day moving average of $85.82.

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

Spire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SR. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Spire from $96.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Spire in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho initiated coverage on Spire in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Spire from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Spire currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.00.

Insider Activity at Spire

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 500 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $627,680. This represents a 6.67% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total transaction of $307,709.22. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,150,890.45. This represents a 21.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Spire

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.