BMO Capital Markets Lowers Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Price Target to $78.00

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $92.00 to $78.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price points to a potential upside of 9.83% from the stock’s previous close.

SRE has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price target (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Evercore ISI upped 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. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sempra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.54.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE stock traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.02. 2,803,556 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,434,172. 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 12-month low of $64.89 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $82.82 and its 200 day moving average is $84.73. The company has a market cap of $46.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. The trade was 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 265.2% during the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.