Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Price Target Raised to $86.00

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $85.00 to $86.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.58.

Sempra Trading Down 0.6 %

Sempra stock opened at $69.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Sempra has a one year low of $64.89 and a one year high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.31 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average is $78.36 and its 200 day moving average is $83.58.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. Sempra’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.37%.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 265.2% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. 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.