Spire Inc. $SR Shares Acquired by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 1.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 667,616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,927 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Spire were worth $52,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the second quarter worth $667,642,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Spire by 158.1% in the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,990,000 after purchasing an additional 612,500 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Spire during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,993,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Spire during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,226,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,427,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Stock Up 0.6%

Spire stock opened at $83.25 on Friday. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.91 and a 52 week high of $95.31. The stock has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.28, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $81.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by $0.06. Spire had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 8.65%. The business had revenue of $420.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $394.62 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. Spire has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.900-4.100 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.79%.

Insider Activity

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 500 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $78.46 per share, for a total transaction of $39,230.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $627,680. This represents a 6.67% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total transaction of $307,709.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,150,890.45. This trade represents a 21.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. BTIG Research set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Spire from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Spire in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Spire from $96.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Spire currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.00.

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.