AXQ Capital LP Makes New $572,000 Investment in Spire Inc. $SR

AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,017 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $572,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Spire by 1,957.1% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the third quarter worth $36,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Spire by 1,031.5% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Spire Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:SR opened at $90.55 on Wednesday. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.94 and a 52 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $84.94 and its 200-day moving average is $83.11. The firm has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.67.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $762.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $785.54 million. Spire had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 9.43%. Spire’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $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. Equities analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America upgraded Spire from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Spire from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Spire in a report on Friday. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Spire from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Spire from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.00.

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.