Evercore ISI Increases Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Price Target to $88.00

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its price objective hoisted by Evercore ISI from $84.00 to $88.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

SRE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Bank of America started coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays increased their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.00.

Sempra Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:SRE opened at $91.25 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.77 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a 52-week low of $66.40 and a 52-week high of $91.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $83.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.01% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 6.9% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,452,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,023,228,000 after buying an additional 874,133 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 2,404,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $182,158,000 after acquiring an additional 48,592 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,878,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $157,091,000 after acquiring an additional 6,700 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,840,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $153,952,000 after acquiring an additional 63,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,757,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $133,679,000 after acquiring an additional 289,731 shares during the period. 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.