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

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of 0.755 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, July 2nd. This represents a $3.02 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 raised its dividend every year for the last 21 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 Price Performance

Shares of Spire stock traded down $0.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $61.40. 361,004 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 320,353. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $60.01 and its 200-day moving average is $59.98. Spire has a 52 week low of $53.77 and a 52 week high of $69.99.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.