Q2 2024 EPS Estimates for Spire Inc. Boosted by Analyst (NYSE:SR)

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Spire in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, April 17th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings of $3.84 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $3.72. The consensus estimate for Spire’s current full-year earnings is $4.35 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Spire’s Q2 2025 earnings at $3.84 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.55 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $3.55 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.83 EPS.

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

SR has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.25.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SR opened at $58.20 on Thursday. Spire has a twelve month low of $53.77 and a twelve month high of $70.60. The firm has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.69 and a 200 day moving average of $59.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.755 per share. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Spire’s payout ratio is 81.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total transaction of $73,223.82. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $393,423.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Spire by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its stake in Spire by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its stake in Spire by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 64,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,999,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Spire by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 9,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Spire by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 6,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

About Spire

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.