Sempra (NYSE:SRE) PT Raised to $84.00

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) had its target price upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $84.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com cut Sempra from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Sempra from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $82.23.

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE stock traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $75.23. The company had a trading volume of 4,095,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,973,595. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $70.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.56 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $63.75 and a fifty-two week high of $78.70.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 5,158 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $367,301.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 43,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,063,739.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035 in the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in Sempra by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 85.6% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 412 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently 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.