Evercore ISI Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stock

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) had its target price upped by Evercore ISI from $84.00 to $88.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider's stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.00.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE stock traded up $1.50 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $89.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,083,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,891,746. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $90.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $83.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.75.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 22.31%. Sempra's revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Sempra's payout ratio is 52.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its position in Sempra by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.