Spire (NYSE:SR) Reaches New 1-Year Low After Earnings Miss

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) shares reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $73.05 and last traded at $76.63, with a volume of 714491 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $77.06.

The utilities provider reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. Spire had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 9.70%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.45 earnings per share.

Spire Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $0.785 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. Spire’s payout ratio is 76.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Spire from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Spire from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Spire from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.70.

Institutional Trading of Spire

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SR. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Spire by 87.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Spire in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Spire in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of Spire by 431.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spire Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $76.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

Spire Company Profile

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.