Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Receives $81.33 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $80.46.

SRE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group cut Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra stock traded up $1.46 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $68.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,169,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,679,333. The firm has a market cap of $44.56 billion, a PE ratio of 15.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $73.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77.

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Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. Sempra's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 approximately $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James C. Yardley bought 5,019 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $69.74 per share, for a total transaction of $350,025.06. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $350,025.06. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Sempra by 633.4% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,917 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 25,838 shares during the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the third quarter worth approximately $33,023,000. L & S Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 41,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,649,000 after acquiring an additional 14,338 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Sempra by 8.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $286,695,000 after purchasing an additional 278,183 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in Sempra during the third quarter worth approximately $675,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.