Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01), Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. Sempra updated its FY24 guidance to $4.60-4.90 EPS and its FY25 guidance to $4.90-5.25 EPS.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded up $1.24 during 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $70.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.86. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $63.75 and a fifty-two week high of $78.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

Sempra Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,105.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.