William Blair Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Spire Inc. $SR

William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 276,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $21,570,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 0.47% of Spire at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Spire during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $667,642,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in Spire by 158.1% in the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,990,000 after acquiring an additional 612,500 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Spire in the 2nd quarter worth $45,993,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Spire in the 4th quarter worth $46,226,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Spire during the second quarter worth $25,049,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spire Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of SR opened at $80.97 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $80.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.83. Spire Inc. has a one year low of $73.91 and a one year high of $95.31. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.52.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported ($0.26) earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $420.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $394.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.01 EPS. The firm’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 research analysts forecast that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on SR. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Spire from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target (up from $84.00) on shares of Spire in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.00.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce acquired 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $78.46 per share, for a total transaction of $39,230.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,680. The trade was a 6.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 14,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,150,890.45. The trade was a 21.10% decrease in their position. 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.