Spire (NYSE:SR) Announces Earnings Results

Spire (NYSE:SR) released its quarterly earnings data 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 Stock Performance

Shares of Spire stock traded up $0.48 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.53. 86,690 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 348,549. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.58, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.58. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.95. Spire has a 1 year low of $56.99 and a 1 year high of $73.64.

Spire Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Mizuho upgraded shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $73.61 per share, with a total value of $73,610.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $178,504.25. This represents a 70.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at $174,544.89. This represents a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.33% 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.