Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Declares Dividend Increase – $3.14 Per Share

by · The Cerbat Gem

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR – Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 14th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of 3.14 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 18.97%. This is a positive change from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76.

Spire has increased its dividend by an average of 5.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 21 years. Spire has a payout ratio of 66.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Spire to earn $4.52 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 66.8%.

Spire Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE SR traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $66.22. 104,800 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 414,050. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.52. Spire has a twelve month low of $56.36 and a twelve month high of $68.02. The business’s 50-day moving average is $65.46 and its 200-day moving average is $63.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.48.

Insider Activity at Spire

In other Spire news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total value of $32,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,899.02. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on SR. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Spire from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.19.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Spire

Spire Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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