Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $93.23 and last traded at $93.23, with a volume of 1242393 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $92.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.00.

Sempra Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $59.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.39.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.63%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Sempra in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Sempra in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 250.0% in the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Sempra during the second quarter worth about $34,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sempra

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.