Morgan Stanley Cuts Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Price Target to $85.00

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $85.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.54.

Sempra Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $71.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.70. Sempra has a 52 week low of $64.89 and a 52 week high of $95.77. 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 company has a market cap of $45.29 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The company 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by 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.