Spire (NYSE:SR) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.08 EPS

Spire (NYSE:SR) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08), Zacks reports. Spire had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 9.52%. Spire updated its FY 2025 guidance to 4.400-4.600 EPS.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of Spire stock traded down $0.71 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.57. 73,151 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 371,025. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.58. Spire has a 52-week low of $56.99 and a 52-week high of $73.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.02.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire’s payout ratio is currently 72.85%.

Insider Activity at Spire

In other news, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $178,504.25. The trade was a 70.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $174,544.89. This represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on Spire in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Mizuho raised Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.50.

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.