Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Given New $86.00 Price Target at Mizuho

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) had its price target lifted by Mizuho from $79.00 to $86.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider's stock.

SRE has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sempra from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $82.86.

Sempra Stock Performance

Sempra stock traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $78.13. 2,587,106 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,039,729. Sempra has a 12-month low of $63.75 and a 12-month high of $78.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $49.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.70. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $71.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.18.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.95% and a net margin of 20.99%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 27th. Sempra's payout ratio is currently 54.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at $770,983.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Sempra news, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the first quarter valued at approximately $199,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Sempra by 30.4% in the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,984 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP grew its holdings in Sempra by 96.9% in the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,636,202 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $117,528,000 after purchasing an additional 805,084 shares during the period. LBP AM SA grew its holdings in Sempra by 98.2% in the first quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 184,768 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $13,272,000 after purchasing an additional 91,563 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 22.7% in the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

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.