Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $87.18, but opened at $72.38. Sempra shares last traded at $68.09, with a volume of 3,834,177 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on SRE. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $77.00 price objective (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research note on Monday. Mizuho cut their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group lowered shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays downgraded shares of Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of 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 research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.92.

Sempra Stock Performance

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $83.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $46.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78.

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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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. Sempra's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 3.61%. Sempra's payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Insider Activity 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % 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 Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Sempra by 1.6% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the 3rd quarter valued at about $248,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,666 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the 3rd quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 14.8% in the third quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 6,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently 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.