Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $82.14.

Several research firms recently weighed in on SRE. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,403,888.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Sempra news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $360,586.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 122,432 shares of company stock valued at $8,668,035 in the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 101.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,117,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,225,884,000 after buying an additional 31,334,782 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $958,253,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 101.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,206,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,646,750,000 after purchasing an additional 12,184,568 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 147.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,360,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $976,926,000 after purchasing an additional 8,546,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newport Trust Company LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 104.0% during the 3rd quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 14,416,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $980,756,000 after purchasing an additional 7,348,746 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $72.28 on Tuesday. Sempra has a 12 month low of $63.75 and a 12 month high of $79.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.75.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. Sempra’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempra’s payout ratio is 51.77%.

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.