Spire Affirms FY21 NEE Outlook, Declares Dividend - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - While reporting financial results for the first quarter on Thursday, gas utility Spire Inc. (SR) affirmed its net economic earnings outlook for the full year 2021. Further, the company also maintained its capital expenditures forecast and declared a quarterly dividend.

For fiscal 2021, the company continues to expect net economic earnings in a range of $4.00 to $4.20 per share.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $4.09 per share for the year. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Additionally, the Spire board of directors a regular quarterly dividend of $0.36875 per depositary share on Spire's 5.90 percent Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock payable May 17, 2021, to holders of record on April 26, 2021.

The company also affirmed its 5-year capital expenditures outlook through fiscal 2025 of $3.0 billion and reaffirmed its long-term earnings growth target of 5 to 7 percent, supported by expected annual rate base growth of 7 to 8 percent, and ESG targets. It's expected fiscal 2021 investment remains $590 million, with $560 million earmarked for its gas utilities.

The company said its long-term targets reflect the expectation of continued consistent growth of its gas utilities focused on pipeline upgrades that enhance system reliability and safety, and support further reductions in methane emissions, as well as technology upgrades and new business.