26,252 Shares in Spire Inc. $SR Purchased by Jupiter Topco LLC

Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 26,252 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,050,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Spire by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 212,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,623,000 after purchasing an additional 19,373 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Spire in the first quarter valued at approximately $9,636,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Spire by 1,031.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Spire by 75.8% during the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 4,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Spire by 1.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 585,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,766,000 after purchasing an additional 8,726 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spire Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of SR stock opened at $83.25 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Spire Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.91 and a 1 year high of $95.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.28, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Spire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Spire’s payout ratio is presently 36.79%.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In related news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 500 shares of Spire stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $78.46 per share, with a total value of $39,230.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $627,680. This represents a 6.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total value of $307,709.22. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,150,890.45. This represents a 21.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on SR shares. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Spire in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Spire in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Spire in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, June 26th. Two 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.