Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $89.91.

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays raised their target price on Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Sempra Stock Down 1.5 %

SRE opened at $89.60 on Wednesday. Sempra has a 1 year low of $66.40 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $87.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.80. 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 $56.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. Sempra’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,695,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $639,921,000 after buying an additional 129,891 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in Sempra by 5.9% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,846 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Blankinship & Foster LLC bought a new position in Sempra in the third quarter worth about $1,338,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the third quarter valued at approximately $380,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the third quarter valued at approximately $6,029,000. 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.