Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Rating Lowered to Neutral at UBS Group

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) was downgraded by UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $78.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their previous target price of $95.00. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 8.35% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SRE. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their price target on Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.54.

Sempra Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $71.99 on Wednesday. Sempra has a 1 year low of $64.89 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The firm has a market cap of $45.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $83.43 and a 200 day moving average of $84.75. 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 (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in 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 Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.