Spire Inc. (SR) To Go Ex-Dividend on September 11th

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of 0.825 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, October 2nd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th.

Spire has raised its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 22 consecutive years. Spire has a payout ratio of 65.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Spire to earn $5.51 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 59.9%.

Spire Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:SR opened at $83.54 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a PE ratio of 9.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.41. Spire has a 12 month low of $74.49 and a 12 month high of $95.31.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $420.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $394.62 million. Spire had a return on equity of 8.65% and a net margin of 21.48%.The company’s revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.01 EPS. Spire has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.900-4.100 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Spire will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul Koonce bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $78.46 per share, for a total transaction of $39,230.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,680. The trade was a 6.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SR. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Spire by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,348,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Detalus Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Spire by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Spire by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

About Spire

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.