Spire Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.83 (NYSE:SR)

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of 0.825 per share by the utilities provider on Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th.

Spire has increased its dividend by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 22 years. Spire has a dividend payout ratio of 65.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Spire to earn $4.88 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 67.6%.

Spire Stock Performance

Spire stock traded down $1.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $83.43. 43,540 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 340,920. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $83.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.43. The company has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.67. Spire has a fifty-two week low of $68.48 and a fifty-two week high of $91.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.46) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $334.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $439.56 million. Spire had a net margin of 10.96% and a return on equity of 8.78%. Spire’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.54) earnings per share. Spire has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.650-5.850 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Spire will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SR has been the topic of several recent research reports. BTIG Research raised shares of Spire to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Spire in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Spire in a report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America raised Spire from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $89.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Spire from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.36.

Spire Company Profile

Spire Inc (NYSE: SR), formerly known as The Laclede Group, is a regulated natural gas distribution company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Through its three operating divisions—Spire Missouri, Spire Alabama and Spire Mississippi—the company delivers natural gas to more than 1.7 million residential, commercial and industrial customers. Spire’s service territory spans key markets in the central and southern United States, including metropolitan St. Louis, central Alabama and central Mississippi.

Founded in 1857 as the Laclede Gas Light Company, the business has grown through strategic acquisitions, notably Alabama Gas Corporation in 2013 and Mississippi Gas in 2016.