Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Receives $82.14 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the ten brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $82.14.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $81.50 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Sempra from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Sempra from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $78.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 12th.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,105.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total transaction of $3,595,856.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $141.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 156,622 shares of company stock worth $11,089,713 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PrairieView Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 380 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 119.9% in the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third 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. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Trading Up 0.8 %

SRE traded up $0.58 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.83. 2,468,803 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,268,620. Sempra has a one year low of $63.75 and a one year high of $79.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $70.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.64.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

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.