Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $80.75.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Sempra from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price target on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $618,823.35. This represents a 8.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael N. Mears acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $67.70 per share, for a total transaction of $67,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $338,500. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 265.2% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE stock traded up $0.52 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $78.47. The stock had a trading volume of 8,580,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,770,097. Sempra has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company's 50-day moving average price is $73.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.70%.

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.