Zacks Research Has Positive Outlook of Spire FY2027 Earnings

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research boosted their FY2027 earnings estimates for shares of Spire in a research note issued on Tuesday, January 28th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the utilities provider will earn $5.14 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $5.10. The consensus estimate for Spire’s current full-year earnings is $4.51 per share.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on SR. StockNews.com downgraded Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 19th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Spire currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.50.

Spire Trading Up 3.2 %

SR opened at $71.68 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $69.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.76. Spire has a one year low of $56.36 and a one year high of $73.64. The stock has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.57.

Institutional Trading of Spire

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Spire in the third quarter valued at about $39,228,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,277,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Spire by 290.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 130,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,877,000 after buying an additional 97,358 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Spire by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,244,000 after acquiring an additional 71,798 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 127.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 109,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,360,000 after acquiring an additional 61,357 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In related news, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $73.61 per share, with a total value of $73,610.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $178,504.25. This trade represents a 70.18 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total transaction of $77,590.50. Following the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $174,544.89. This represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.785 per share. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. Spire’s payout ratio is currently 72.85%.

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.