SR vs UGI: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: UGI is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. SR and UGI share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined SR and UGI exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Spire Inc. is a public utility holding company headquartered in St. Louis with roots going back to the 1850s. Its regulated distribution utilities (Spire Missouri, Spire Alabama, Spire Gulf, Spire Mississippi and Spire Tennessee) buy natural gas, move it through their own distribution and transmission pipelines, and sell it to residential, commercial and industrial customers under rates set by state commissions. A small Midstream segment holds pipeline and storage assets that serve the utilities. The company closed a ~$2.48 billion purchase of Duke Energy's Piedmont Tennessee local distribution business on March 31, 2026, adding more than 200,000 customers around Nashville and nearly 3,800 miles of pipeline, and it agreed in April 2026 to sell its smaller Mississippi utility to Delta Utilities for ~$75 million. Spire's fiscal year ends September 30, which matters when reading any trailing figure.

Full SR guide

UGI Corporation, based in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, runs four businesses that have less in common than the single ticker suggests. Utilities is the regulated core, a Pennsylvania natural gas distribution utility plus a small electric utility that UGI agreed in April 2026 to sell for ~$470 million, with closing expected in the second quarter of fiscal 2027. Midstream & Marketing owns pipelines, storage, LNG peaking capacity and gas marketing contracts across the Appalachian basin. UGI International sells LPG across Europe, a footprint UGI has been trimming through divestitures in Italy, Austria and Eastern Europe. AmeriGas Propane delivers propane to homes and businesses nationwide, and UGI describes it as the largest retail propane distributor in the country. The fiscal year ends September 30, so earnings land almost entirely in the winter quarters and the June quarter is normally a loss.

Full UGI guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• SR drivers: Rate base growth is the earnings engine; Tennessee is the newest and fastest-growing piece.
• UGI drivers: The Pennsylvania rate case and utility capital spending; Appalachian gas demand from data centers and power generation.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Regulatory outcomes drive nearly everything here: Alabama and Gulf RSE renewal hearings were held in August 2026 with requested returns on equity of ~10.5% to 10.75%, and Spire expects to make its first Missouri future test year rate case filing around November 2026, so an unfavorable order in either place would flow straight to earnings. For UGI, weather is the single largest swing factor, and UGI's June-quarter results already reflected temperatures 23% warmer than normal in Europe and 10% warmer than normal across the midstream footprint.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick SR if you believe its drivers more; UGI if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the SR and UGI guides.

SR. At roughly $81 a share, SR trades near ~20 times the midpoint of fiscal 2026 adjusted guidance and closer to ~15 times the fiscal 2027 midpoint. Those two multiples describe different companies, because fiscal 2027 carries a first full year of Tennessee earnings plus the Missouri and Alabama rates that took effect during fiscal 2026, so anchoring on the trailing number overstates how expensive the shares look. Pure-play gas distributors have generally traded in the high teens to low twenties on forward earnings, which puts Spire inside its peer band rather than at either edge of it.

UGI. The June quarter is structurally a loss for UGI because propane and heating gas volumes collapse in summer, so the trailing twelve-month figures are the honest read. Adjusted EPS strips out mark-to-market swings on commodity and currency derivatives, disposal losses and debt extinguishment charges, and it ran below GAAP EPS over the trailing year rather than above it. Market cap reflects the ~9% move on August 18, 2026 after the reported KKR approach; against the prior close of $35.09 the multiple was closer to 11.6x trailing earnings.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): SR shows revenue (ttm) ~$2.7B, with ~$2.14B in the first nine months of fiscal 2026, adjusted eps guidance ~$3.90 to $4.10 for FY2026, ~$5.40 to $5.60 for FY2027, market cap ~$4.8B at a share price near ~$81, dividend ~$0.825 per quarter (~$3.30 annualized), ~4.1% yield, 23rd consecutive annual increase; UGI shows revenue (ttm ended june 30, 2026) ~$7,296M, net income (ttm) ~$671M, or ~$3.03 diluted EPS, adjusted diluted eps (ttm) ~$2.95, latest quarter (q3 fy2026, ended june 30, 2026) Revenue ~$1,331M, net loss ~$(133)M, adjusted EPS ~$(0.20).

SR and UGI are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined SR and UGI exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.