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New coverage, same old wait-and-see
TD Cowen just put a fresh pair of glasses on Spire Inc. and the view is basically: nice long-term story, but don’t sprint into it today. The firm started coverage with a Hold rating and a $101 price target, which isn’t exactly a mic-drop buy call, but it does suggest some upside from the current share price around $93.54.
Why the firm isn’t buying the hype yet
The pitch from TD Cowen is pretty classic utility-land: regulated earnings can keep grinding higher, especially if Missouri regulation keeps improving. But the firm also flagged that the real payoff from Spire’s strategic reshuffling — think acquisitions, divestitures, and consolidation — probably shows up more meaningfully after 2027.
That’s the investing equivalent of being told dessert is coming, just not during this dinner service.
The business shake-up keeps rolling
Spire also disclosed it’s selling its gas marketing business to Boardwalk Pipelines, a Loews unit, for $215 million. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter, assuming the usual approvals and conditions don’t throw a wrench in the gears.
For investors, that matters because Spire is clearly trying to simplify the machine and lean harder into the regulated side of the house — the steadier, less dramatic cousin of the business. Less sizzle, maybe, but utilities tend to get paid for boring.
Big picture
This isn’t a “rush in” moment. It’s more of a slow-burn utility story where the near-term setup looks fine, the long-term math looks better, and the market will probably keep asking the same question: how much of that future growth is already baked into the stock?