Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Given New $96.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $87.00 to $96.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays increased their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.00.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE stock traded up $1.83 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $91.59. 1,964,326 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,887,472. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $83.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.00. Sempra has a 52 week low of $66.40 and a 52 week high of $91.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.17). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.01% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Sempra’s payout ratio is 54.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Sempra in the 1st quarter worth approximately $815,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,293,000. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 13.7% in the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 117,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,418,000 after buying an additional 14,100 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Sempra by 249.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 155,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,195,000 after acquiring an additional 111,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its holdings in Sempra by 319.5% in the second quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 196,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,980,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Company Profile

Sempra operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Sempra California, Sempra Texas Utilities, and Sempra Infrastructure. The Sempra California segment provides electric services; and natural gas services to San Diego County.