Wall Street Zen Upgrades Spire (NYSE:SR) to Sell

Spire (NYSE:SR) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on Spire in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. BTIG Research set a $101.00 price target on Spire in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Spire in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Spire in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Two 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 Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SR opened at $82.12 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.96. Spire has a 52 week low of $73.91 and a 52 week high of $95.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.15, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In other Spire news, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,150,890.45. This trade represents a 21.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 500 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $78.46 per share, with a total value of $39,230.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,680. This represents a 6.67% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SR. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Spire by 10.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 212,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,623,000 after purchasing an additional 19,373 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the 1st quarter worth approximately $9,636,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Spire by 1,031.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Spire by 75.8% during the 2nd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 4,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 2,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Spire by 1.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 585,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,766,000 after acquiring an additional 8,726 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by 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.