Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Sempra (NYSE:SRE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $86.35 and last traded at $86.34, with a volume of 24226 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.55.

Sempra Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $82.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.97. The company has a market cap of $54.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.03). Sempra had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.99%.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.7% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 142,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,876,000 after buying an additional 6,380 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC bought a new stake in Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at $301,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $351,000. Forsta AP Fonden increased its position in shares of Sempra by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 119,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,027,000 after purchasing an additional 17,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Sempra by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 51,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,289,000 after purchasing an additional 8,587 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.