Sempra (SRE) Scheduled to Post Quarterly Earnings on Tuesday

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) will release its earnings data before the market opens on Tuesday, May 7th. Analysts expect Sempra to post earnings of $1.50 per share for the quarter. Persons interested in registering for the company's earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. Sempra's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Sempra to post $5 EPS for the current fiscal year and $5 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Sempra Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE SRE traded down $0.65 on Tuesday, reaching $71.63. 2,263,938 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,946,043. Sempra has a 12 month low of $63.75 and a 12 month high of $79.30. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $70.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.75. The company has a market cap of $45.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This is an increase from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays raised their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sempra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $81.50 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $360,586.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of Sempra 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 owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 122,432 shares of company stock valued at $8,668,035. Company 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.