Spire (SR) Declares $0.72 Dividend

Spire said on February 1, 2023 that its board of directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share ($2.88 annualized). Shareholders of record as of March 9, 2023 will receive the payment on April 4, 2023. Previously, the company paid $0.72 per share.

At the current share price of $75.59 / share, the stock's dividend yield is 3.81%. Looking back five years and taking a sample every week, the average dividend yield has been 3.53%, the lowest has been 2.72%, and the highest has been 4.82%. The standard deviation of yields is 0.52 (n=237).

The current dividend yield is 0.53 standard deviations above the historical average.

Additionally, the company's dividend payout ratio is 0.59. The payout ratio tells us how much of a company's income is paid out in dividends. A payout ratio of one (1.0) means 100% of the company's income is paid in a dividend. A payout ratio greater than one means the company is dipping into savings in order to maintain its dividend - not a healthy situation. Companies with few growth prospects are expected to pay out most of their income in dividends, which typically means a payout ratio between 0.5 and 1.0. Companies with good growth prospects are expected to retain some earnings in order to invest in those growth prospects, which translates to a payout ratio of zero to 0.5.

The company's 3-Year dividend growth rate is 0.16%, demonstrating that it has increased its dividend over time.

Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 5.99% Downside

As of February 6, 2023, the average one-year price target for Spire is $71.06. The forecasts range from a low of $61.61 to a high of $78.75. The average price target represents a decrease of 5.99% from its latest reported closing price of $75.59.

The projected annual revenue for Spire is $2,242MM, a decrease of 8.75%. The projected annual EPS is $4.28, a decrease of 7.32%.

Fund Sentiment

There are 665 funds or institutions reporting positions in Spire. This is a decrease of 11 owner(s) or 1.63%.

Average portfolio weight of all funds dedicated to US:SR is 0.2084%, a decrease of 3.6288%. Total shares owned by institutions increased in the last three months by 1.01% to 56,001K shares.

What are large shareholders doing?

American Century Companies holds 7,208,278 shares representing 13.72% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 6,538,519 shares, representing an increase of 9.29%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in SR by 0.59% over the last quarter.

TWEIX - Equity Income Fund Investor Class holds 2,799,796 shares representing 5.33% ownership of the company. No change in the last quarter.

ACMVX - Mid Cap Value Fund Investor Class holds 2,301,559 shares representing 4.38% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 1,907,349 shares, representing an increase of 17.13%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in SR by 7.33% over the last quarter.

IJH - iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF holds 1,533,952 shares representing 2.92% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 1,498,825 shares, representing an increase of 2.29%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in SR by 13.80% over the last quarter.

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management holds 1,512,917 shares representing 2.88% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 1,485,434 shares, representing an increase of 1.82%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in SR by 10.73% over the last quarter.

Spire Background Information
(This description is provided by the company.)

Spire is a growing, financially strong natural gas company with five gas utilities, serving 1.7 million homes and businesses across Alabama, Mississippi and Missouri, making it the 5th largest publicly traded natural gas company. Spire's Natural gas-related businesses include Spire Marketing, Spire STL Pipeline and Spire Storage. Spire is committed to transforming the business through growing organically, investing in infrastructure, and advancing through innovation.

This story originally appeared on Fintel.