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

Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $90.70.

Several equities analysts have commented on SR shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Spire from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Spire from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Spire in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Spire from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th.

Spire Stock Performance

SR opened at $92.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.61. Spire has a 52-week low of $69.94 and a 52-week high of $92.95. The firm has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s fifty day moving average is $87.08 and its 200-day moving average is $84.42.

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

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 71.74%.

Institutional Trading of Spire

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