Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $89.91.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Sempra during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its holdings in Sempra by 250.0% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $92.00 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $58.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.53. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $95.77.

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

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

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.