Spire (NYSE:SR) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Spire (NYSE:SR) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.04, Briefing.com reports. Spire had a net margin of 9.40% and a return on equity of 8.25%. The company had revenue of $414.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.42) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Spire updated its FY24 guidance to $4.15-4.25 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 4.150-4.250 EPS.

Spire Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE SR traded down $0.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $65.82. 155,698 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 433,431. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.73, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $61.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Spire has a 12-month low of $53.77 and a 12-month high of $68.02.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be paid a $0.755 dividend. This represents a $3.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Spire in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Spire from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Spire from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Spire from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.50.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In related news, EVP Steven P. Rasche acquired 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.83 per share, with a total value of $107,235.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 16,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $393,195. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

About Spire

Spire Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the purchase, retail distribution, and sale of natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and other end-users of natural gas in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Gas Utility, Gas Marketing, and Midstream. It is also involved in the marketing of natural gas and related services; and transportation and storage of natural gas.