Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Downgraded by Argus to "Hold"

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Argus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

SRE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.58.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $69.56. 7,235,223 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,350,219. The stock has a market cap of $45.31 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The business's fifty day moving average is $78.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.57. Sempra has a one year low of $64.89 and a one year high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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

Insider Activity

In other Sempra news, Director Pablo Ferrero acquired 2,600 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. This represents a 19.92 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a 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 stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Sempra by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,018,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,527,944,000 after buying an additional 490,269 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Sempra by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,369,076,000 after acquiring an additional 4,082,261 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Sempra by 4.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,774,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,026 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,797,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at $1,535,000,000. 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.