Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Price Target Cut to $78.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) had its target price trimmed by BMO Capital Markets from $92.00 to $78.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider's stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on SRE. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lowered Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.50.

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Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE SRE traded down $0.39 on Tuesday, reaching $69.23. The stock had a trading volume of 5,948,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,561,125. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $81.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.42. Sempra has a 1-year low of $64.89 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The company has a market cap of $45.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. Sempra's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at $618,823.35. The trade was a 8.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 9.4% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,666 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Sempra by 4.0% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 276,948 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $23,161,000 after purchasing an additional 10,720 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra during the third quarter worth approximately $211,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Sempra by 6.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 181,324 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $15,586,000 after purchasing an additional 11,270 shares during the period. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Sempra by 9.3% during the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 61,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,135,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.