Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $90.00.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SR shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Spire from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Bank of America raised Spire from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $76.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Spire from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR stock opened at $90.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.67. Spire has a fifty-two week low of $69.94 and a fifty-two week high of $92.53. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $84.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.90.

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

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. Spire’s payout ratio is presently 71.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Optima Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Spire in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Spire in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 186.8% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.