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

Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $82.86.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. StockNews.com lowered Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total transaction of $3,595,856.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $141.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Sempra news, Director Richard J. Mark purchased 1,925 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total value of $3,595,856.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035 over the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 85.6% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Down 1.4 %

SRE opened at $77.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $48.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.13, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Sempra has a 12 month low of $63.75 and a 12 month high of $78.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $72.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.39.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.95% and a net margin of 20.99%. The company’s revenue was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Sempra’s payout ratio is 54.93%.

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.