Csenge Advisory Group Makes New Investment in Spire Inc. $SR

Csenge Advisory Group bought a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 42,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,280,000. Csenge Advisory Group owned approximately 0.07% of Spire as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Spire by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,430,368 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $531,791,000 after acquiring an additional 19,326 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Spire during the first quarter worth approximately $3,631,000. South Street Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,213,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,387,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,490,000. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Spire from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Spire from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. BTIG Research set a $101.00 price target on shares of Spire in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Spire in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Spire presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.50.

Spire Price Performance

Spire stock opened at $83.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.52. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.91 and a 12-month high of $95.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $80.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.87.

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

Spire Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Spire’s payout ratio is 36.79%.

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.