Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $80.54.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 target price on shares of Sempra and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho dropped their price target 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. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra news, Director Michael N. Mears purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $338,500. This trade represents a 25.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Sempra by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 6,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Sempra by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Down 0.5 %

SRE stock opened at $75.40 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $70.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.54. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The firm has a market cap of $49.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.90 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $0.645 dividend. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

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.