Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Given New $75.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) had its price objective reduced by Jefferies Financial Group from $77.00 to $75.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a hold rating on the utilities provider's stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on SRE. Argus cut Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays lowered shares of Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.31.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE SRE traded up $0.75 on Tuesday, reaching $71.14. 3,595,052 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,689,521. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $72.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.44. Sempra has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The company has a market cap of $46.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. Sempra's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This is an increase from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.37%.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero acquired 2,600 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. This trade represents a 19.92 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Sempra by 633.4% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,917 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,624,000 after acquiring an additional 25,838 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 52.6% during the 4th quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 41,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,649,000 after purchasing an additional 14,338 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $286,695,000 after buying an additional 278,183 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Sempra by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,071,091 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $93,956,000 after buying an additional 26,821 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 9,479 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $831,000 after buying an additional 990 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.