Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Receives $80.62 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $80.75.

Several research firms recently commented on SRE. Argus downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group lowered shares of 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. Morgan Stanley set a $87.00 price target on shares of Sempra and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Sempra Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of SRE stock opened at $77.89 on Wednesday. Sempra has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $73.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.36. The stock has a market cap of $50.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Sempra’s payout ratio is 56.70%.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 700 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $618,823.35. This represents a 8.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,260,117.94. This trade represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 265.2% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.