Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Declares $0.76 Quarterly Dividend

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be given a dividend of 0.755 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, July 2nd. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 11th.

Spire has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.0% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. Spire has a dividend payout ratio of 65.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Spire to earn $4.56 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.02 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 66.2%.

Spire Stock Down 0.6 %

SR stock traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $61.40. 361,004 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 320,353. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Spire has a twelve month low of $53.77 and a twelve month high of $69.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.98.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.10. Spire had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The company had revenue of $756.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.88 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Spire will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Spire

In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total transaction of $73,223.82. Following the transaction, the treasurer now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total transaction of $73,223.82. Following the transaction, the treasurer now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph B. Hampton sold 1,294 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total transaction of $75,220.22. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $393,423.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SR shares. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Spire from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $57.50 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.72.

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.