Greenland Capital Management LP Buys Shares of 32,910 Spire Inc. $SR

Greenland Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 32,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,570,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Spire by 10.0% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 19,373 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in Spire in the 1st quarter worth approximately $9,636,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Spire by 1,031.5% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Spire by 75.8% during the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 4,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Spire by 1.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 585,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,766,000 after purchasing an additional 8,726 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of Spire stock opened at $80.97 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.83. The company has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. Spire Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.91 and a 1 year high of $95.31.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported ($0.26) 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 during 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 quarterly 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on SR shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Spire from $96.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Spire in a report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Spire from $106.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Spire from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $101.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.00.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In related news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 500 shares of Spire stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $78.46 per share, for a total transaction of $39,230.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,680. This represents a 6.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total value of $307,709.22. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,150,890.45. This trade represents a 21.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.