Spire (NYSE:SR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

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

Spire Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Spire stock opened at $71.28 on Thursday. Spire has a 12 month low of $56.99 and a 12 month high of $73.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.58.

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 paid a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Spire from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spire presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $178,504.25. The trade was a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 Spire 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 transaction, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at $174,544.89. This trade represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

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.