479,277 Shares in Spire Inc. $SR Bought by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 479,277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $37,427,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.81% of Spire at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SR. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Spire by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 212,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,623,000 after acquiring an additional 19,373 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the 1st quarter worth about $9,636,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Spire by 1,031.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Spire by 75.8% during the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 4,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Spire by 1.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 585,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,766,000 after purchasing an additional 8,726 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Spire

In related news, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $78.46 per share, with a total value of $39,230.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $627,680. This trade represents a 6.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of Spire stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,150,890.45. This trade represents a 21.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Spire Stock Performance

NYSE SR opened at $83.73 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $80.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.80. 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 data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by $0.06. Spire had a return on equity of 8.65% and a net margin of 21.48%.The firm had revenue of $420.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $394.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Spire has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.900-4.100 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is 36.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on SR. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Spire from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. 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 report on Friday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $101.00 price target on shares of Spire in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. 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 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.