Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Receives $80.54 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the fourteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $80.54.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SRE. UBS Group cut Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Argus cut shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Sempra Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Sempra stock traded up $0.44 on Friday, hitting $76.30. 413,991 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,730,779. The company has a market cap of $49.74 billion, a PE ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $70.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.67.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.19. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael N. Mears purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $338,500. This represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 in the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 633.4% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,917 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 25,838 shares in the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Sempra by 52.6% during the fourth quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 41,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,649,000 after purchasing an additional 14,338 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Sempra by 8.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $286,695,000 after purchasing an additional 278,183 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,071,091 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $93,956,000 after buying an additional 26,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Sempra by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 9,479 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $831,000 after acquiring an additional 990 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% 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.