Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Price Target Cut to $76.00 by Analysts at Mizuho

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its price target decreased by equities research analysts at Mizuho from $92.00 to $76.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 5.42% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on SRE. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.31.

Sempra Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of SRE traded up $1.45 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $72.09. 6,882,954 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,010,266. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $64.89 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $83.96 and a 200-day moving average of $84.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. 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 quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SRE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Sempra by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,018,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,527,944,000 after buying an additional 490,269 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Sempra by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,369,076,000 after acquiring an additional 4,082,261 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,774,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539,026 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,797,376,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511,313 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $1,535,000,000. 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.