Zacks Research Analysts Lift Earnings Estimates for Spire

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Spire in a report released on Thursday, December 12th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the utilities provider will earn $1.43 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $1.39. The consensus estimate for Spire’s current full-year earnings is $4.52 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Spire’s Q2 2025 earnings at $3.67 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.51 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.04 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on SR. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com cut Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.94.

Spire Stock Performance

SR stock opened at $67.89 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.45. Spire has a 1 year low of $56.36 and a 1 year high of $73.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $67.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.57.

Spire Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $3.14 per share. This is a positive change from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 18.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of Spire stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at $174,544.89. The trade was a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $73.61 per share, with a total value of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $178,504.25. The trade was a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Spire

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SR. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Spire by 1,318.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Company Profile

Spire Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the purchase, retail distribution, and sale of natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and other end-users of natural gas in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Gas Utility, Gas Marketing, and Midstream. It is also involved in the marketing of natural gas and related services; and transportation and storage of natural gas.