Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Price Target Cut to $75.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) had its target price decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from $77.00 to $75.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the utilities provider's stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on SRE. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays downgraded Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sempra has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.31.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded up $0.75 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,595,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,687,181. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. 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 business's fifty day simple moving average is $72.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.54. The company has a market capitalization of $46.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra news, Director Michael N. Mears bought 1,000 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $338,500. This trade represents a 25.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Seed Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sempra in the 1st quarter worth approximately $243,000. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra by 5.6% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,574 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Sempra by 10.2% in the first quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,491 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,632 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Sempra by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 10,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,505 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.