Sanctuary Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 16,943 Spire Inc. $SR

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position 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 fund acquired 16,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,323,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Spire during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in Spire in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Spire during the first quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Spire by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $627,680. This represents a 6.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Ryan L. Hyman sold 3,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.51, for a total value of $307,709.22. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,150,890.45. This represents a 21.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

Spire Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE SR opened at $82.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.91 and a 52 week high of $95.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.21, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a fifty day moving average of $81.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.78.

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

Spire Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research set a $101.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Spire from $96.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Spire from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective (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 assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.00.

Spire 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.