Spire Inc. $SR Shares Sold by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board reduced its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 78.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 78,653 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Spire were worth $1,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Spire in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,155,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Spire by 158.1% in the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,990,000 after acquiring an additional 612,500 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,756,000. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Spire by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 1,030,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $75,225,000 after acquiring an additional 254,285 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 212.2% during the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 360,466 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,310,000 after acquiring an additional 244,998 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SR opened at $89.10 on Thursday. Spire Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.94 and a fifty-two week high of $92.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $84.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.67.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.15. Spire had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 10.95%.The company had revenue of $762.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $785.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. Spire’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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 expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on SR shares. Mizuho increased their price target on Spire from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Bank of America upgraded Spire from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $76.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Spire in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on Spire from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Spire from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Spire currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.36.

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.