Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Announces $0.79 Quarterly Dividend

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 30th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of 0.785 per share by the utilities provider on Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th.

Spire has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. Spire has a payout ratio of 63.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Spire to earn $4.88 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.14 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 64.3%.

Spire Trading Up 0.6 %

SR traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $71.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 289,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 356,521. Spire has a 52-week low of $56.99 and a 52-week high of $73.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.87. The firm has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.56, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on Spire in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of Spire from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price target for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Spire in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spire currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at $174,544.89. This represents a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 1,000 shares of Spire stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $178,504.25. This represents a 70.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.