Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stock

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $85.00 to $86.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target points to a potential upside of 22.72% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on SRE. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Argus downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.58.

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Sempra Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of SRE traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $70.08. 1,013,293 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,343,307. The stock has a market cap of $45.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $78.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a twelve month low of $64.89 and a twelve month high of $95.77.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 in the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 265.2% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

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.