Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Receives $81.50 Average PT from Analysts

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $81.50.

SRE has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Argus lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Sempra Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $70.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.84. Sempra has a 1 year low of $64.89 and a 1 year high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.37%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $618,823.35. This trade represents a 8.69 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have bought 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Sempra by 6.6% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Sempra by 2.1% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,445,967 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $120,926,000 after purchasing an additional 29,536 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 23.4% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 2,745 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Sempra by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,172 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,109,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC boosted its stake in Sempra by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

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.