Zacks Research Analysts Cut Earnings Estimates for Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for Spire in a report issued on Wednesday, April 17th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn ($0.34) per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of ($0.31). The consensus estimate for Spire’s current full-year earnings is $4.35 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Spire’s Q4 2024 earnings at ($0.61) EPS, FY2024 earnings at $4.35 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at ($0.29) EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at ($0.42) EPS and Q1 2026 earnings at $1.41 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho decreased their target price on Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Spire in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.25.

Spire Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE:SR opened at $59.40 on Friday. Spire has a 1 year low of $53.77 and a 1 year high of $70.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $59.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.77.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $756.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.88 million. Spire had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 8.11%. The firm’s revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SR. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Spire by 81.9% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in Spire by 817.5% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 578 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Spire by 31.8% in the first quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Spire by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Spire in the third quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total transaction of $73,223.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $92,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Spire news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total value of $75,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,768 shares in the company, valued at $393,423.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total value of $73,223.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.755 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.08%. Spire’s payout ratio is presently 81.40%.

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.