Analysts Set Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Target Price at $89.91

Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $89.91.

Several analysts have weighed in on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th.

Sempra Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE SRE traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $91.46. The stock had a trading volume of 1,229,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,909,432. 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 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The company has a market capitalization of $57.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $87.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.53.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Sempra's quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 9.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,587,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,653 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Sempra by 4.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Sempra by 6.9% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,452,912 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,023,228,000 after buying an additional 874,133 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Sempra by 201.2% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 620,394 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,882,000 after buying an additional 414,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the third quarter worth about $33,023,000. 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.