26,635 Shares in Spire Inc. $SR Purchased by Simplicity Wealth LLC

Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 26,635 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,080,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SR. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Spire during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Spire Price Performance

Spire stock opened at $82.86 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $80.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.52. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.91 and a 52 week high of $95.31.

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

Spire Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SR has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Spire in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Spire from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Spire from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spire currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.50.

Insider Activity

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

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.