Renaissance Technologies LLC Takes Position in Spire Inc. $SR

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 40,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,631,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Optima Capital LLC acquired a new position in Spire during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Spire in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Spire in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SR has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target (up from $84.00) on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Spire from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Spire in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.50.

Spire Stock Performance

NYSE SR opened at $82.12 on Friday. Spire Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.91 and a twelve month high of $95.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.15, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.94.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.32) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $420.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $394.62 million. Spire had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 8.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.01 earnings per share. Spire has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.900-4.100 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.79%.

Insider Activity at Spire

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

Spire 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.