Spire (NYSE:SR) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $94.46 and last traded at $94.0110, with a volume of 61283 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $92.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Spire from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Spire from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Spire from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.78.

Spire Trading Up 1.7%

The stock has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $89.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $762.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $785.54 million. Spire had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 10.95%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. Spire has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.650-5.850 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Spire’s payout ratio is 71.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter valued at $1,490,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Spire by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Spire by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Spire by 900.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Spire

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.