Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $86.35 and last traded at $86.34, with a volume of 24226 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $85.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SRE. Barclays lifted their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America began coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.55.

Sempra Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $53.43 billion, a PE ratio of 18.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.75.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.03). Sempra had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 0.5% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 39,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,315,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,038,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in Sempra during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $248,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 38.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 28,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,367,000 after buying an additional 7,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $382,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

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.