Zacks Research Weighs in on Spire Inc.’s Q2 2024 Earnings (NYSE:SR)

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research raised their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for Spire in a report released on Wednesday, April 17th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $3.84 for the quarter, up from their previous 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.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Spire in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.25.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR opened at $60.91 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $59.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.81. Spire has a 12-month low of $53.77 and a 12-month high of $70.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

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

Spire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.755 per share. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total transaction of $75,220.22. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $393,423.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total transaction of $73,223.82. Following the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 6,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $393,423.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SR. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Spire by 70,596.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,264,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $293,646,000 after acquiring an additional 4,258,360 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Spire by 126.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,501,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951,969 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Spire by 107.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,431,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,981,000 after acquiring an additional 742,231 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Spire during the 1st quarter worth about $149,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in Spire by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,252,151 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $163,065,000 after acquiring an additional 572,381 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.