Zacks Research Issues Optimistic Estimate for Spire Earnings

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for Spire in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, December 12th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $1.43 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.39. The consensus estimate for Spire's current full-year earnings is $4.52 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Spire's Q2 2025 earnings at $3.67 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.51 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.04 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on SR. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Spire from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $69.94.

Spire Stock Performance

SR stock traded up $0.19 on Monday, hitting $67.89. The company had a trading volume of 434,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 410,124. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Spire has a 12-month low of $56.36 and a 12-month high of $73.64. The stock has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.57. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $67.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.90.

Spire Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $3.14 dividend. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 18.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This is a positive change from Spire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Spire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total transaction of $77,590.50. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at $174,544.89. This trade represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at $178,504.25. This represents a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Spire

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in Spire by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,154,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $214,535,000 after buying an additional 44,969 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 5.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $93,244,000 after buying an additional 71,798 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Spire by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 944,387 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,351,000 after purchasing an additional 72,119 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Spire by 4.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 805,932 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,231,000 after buying an additional 36,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Spire by 11.0% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 698,819 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,439,000 after acquiring an additional 69,020 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Company Profile

Spire Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the purchase, retail distribution, and sale of natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and other end-users of natural gas in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Gas Utility, Gas Marketing, and Midstream. It is also involved in the marketing of natural gas and related services; and transportation and storage of natural gas.