Commerce Bank Takes $1.81 Million Position in Spire Inc. $SR

Commerce Bank bought a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 23,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,813,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SR. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Spire during the second quarter worth about $1,675,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Spire in the second quarter valued at approximately $278,000. Farringdon Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Spire in the second quarter valued at approximately $245,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire in the second quarter valued at approximately $21,570,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Spire during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $362,000. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:SR opened at $83.19 on Wednesday. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.91 and a 12-month high of $95.31. The stock has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50 day moving average of $80.76 and a 200-day moving average of $85.81. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.01 earnings per share. Spire has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.900-4.100 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Spire from $96.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Spire in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Spire from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Spire currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total value of $307,709.22. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,150,890.45. The trade was a 21.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 500 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $78.46 per share, with a total value of $39,230.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $627,680. This trade represents a 6.67% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

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.