Spire (NYSE:SR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.24 EPS

Spire (NYSE:SR) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The utilities provider reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.24, Briefing.com reports. Spire had a net margin of 10.96% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. Spire updated its FY 2027 guidance to 5.650-5.850 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance to 5.250-5.450 EPS.

Spire Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of SR stock opened at $85.21 on Tuesday. Spire has a 1-year low of $68.48 and a 1-year high of $91.11. The company has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.64.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Spire in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Bank of America upgraded Spire from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. BTIG Research upgraded Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Spire in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Spire from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Two equities research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.36.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spire in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in Spire in the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Spire by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Spire during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $108,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Spire

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.