Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $61.90 and last traded at $62.56, with a volume of 417053 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $65.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays downgraded Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.33.

Sempra Trading Down 3.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.70.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra news, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 700 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at approximately $618,823.35. This represents a 8.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra by 265.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 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.