Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Buy" from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $91.20.

SRE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Sempra from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $0.67 during trading on Monday, reaching $86.01. 2,293,531 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,250,322. Sempra has a 12-month low of $66.40 and a 12-month 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. The stock has a market cap of $54.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $84.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra news, 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 value of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,647,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at $6,109,000. GTS Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 292.4% in the 4th quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 3,895 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 5,919 shares during the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 77.8% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 4,937 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 2,161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.