Spire (NYSE:SR) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $94.46 and last traded at $94.0110, with a volume of 61283 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $92.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on SR. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Spire from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group upped their target price on Spire from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Spire from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Spire has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.78.

Spire Trading Up 1.7%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.60.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $762.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $785.54 million. Spire had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 10.95%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. Spire has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.650-5.850 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.74%.

Institutional Trading of Spire

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SR. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Spire by 21.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 219,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,923,000 after buying an additional 38,875 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in Spire during the third quarter valued at $1,414,000. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its stake in Spire by 131.0% during the third quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 37,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,049,000 after buying an additional 21,211 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Spire by 30.8% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 374,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,493,000 after buying an additional 88,154 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Spire by 5.2% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 550,974 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,915,000 after purchasing an additional 27,292 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.