Spire Inc. Forecasted to Earn Q2 2024 Earnings of $3.72 Per Share (NYSE:SR)

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q2 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Spire in a report released on Thursday, March 28th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $3.72 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $3.70. The consensus estimate for Spire’s current full-year earnings is $4.34 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Spire’s FY2026 earnings at $4.82 EPS.

Separately, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.43.

Spire Trading Up 1.3 %

SR opened at $61.38 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $59.44 and its 200-day moving average is $59.67. The company has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.51. Spire has a 1-year low of $53.77 and a 1-year high of $72.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

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

Spire Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be paid a $0.755 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.92%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.40%.

Insider Activity at Spire

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SR. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Spire by 817.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 578 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its position in Spire by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Spire by 81.9% during the 3rd 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. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Spire by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Spire by 159.2% in the 1st quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.