Brokerages expect Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) to post earnings per share (EPS) of $2.99 for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Two analysts have issued estimates for Spire’s earnings. The lowest EPS estimate is $2.93 and the highest is $3.05. Spire reported earnings per share of $2.75 during the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year over year growth rate of 8.7%. The firm is scheduled to announce its next earnings results on Friday, May 14th.
On average, analysts expect that Spire will report full-year earnings of $4.15 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $4.05 to $4.36. For the next fiscal year, analysts anticipate that the firm will post earnings of $4.40 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $4.30 to $4.55. Zacks Investment Research’s EPS calculations are an average based on a survey of research analysts that follow Spire.
Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $512.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $592.36 million. Spire had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 4.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share.
Shares of Spire stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.04. 1,156 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 363,076. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $71.27 and a 200-day moving average of $63.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of 51.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.19. Spire has a 12 month low of $50.58 and a 12 month high of $81.47.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 11th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 10th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. Spire’s payout ratio is 69.15%.
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SR. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Spire by 57.0% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 9,094 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 3,301 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Spire in the third quarter worth about $591,000. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Spire in the third quarter worth about $474,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its stake in shares of Spire by 516.2% in the third quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 400,823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,922,000 after buying an additional 335,777 shares during the period. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its stake in Spire by 76.0% during the 3rd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 86,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,627,000 after purchasing an additional 37,564 shares during the period. 78.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Spire
Spire Inc, through 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 in two segments, Gas Utility and Gas Marketing. It is also involved in the marketing of natural gas; and provision of energy services on non-regulated basis to on-system utility transportation customers, as well as to retail and wholesale customers.
Featured Article: How is a price target determined?
Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Spire (SR)
For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com
Receive News & Ratings for Spire Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Spire and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
