Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE – Get Rating) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $159.50.

SRE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Sempra from $142.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 28th. Credit Suisse Group initiated coverage on Sempra in a research note on Monday, April 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Sempra from $158.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 13th. Mizuho increased their target price on Sempra from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Sempra from $168.00 to $164.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday.

NYSE:SRE opened at $163.79 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $164.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.62. Sempra has a 12-month low of $119.56 and a 12-month high of $173.28.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Sempra will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 7th will be issued a $1.145 dividend. This represents a $4.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 6th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 144.48%.

In related news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 2,559 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.45, for a total transaction of $369,647.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 30,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.23, for a total value of $4,996,035.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 17,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,965,000 after acquiring an additional 952 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 44.9% in the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,315,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $221,268,000 after buying an additional 407,856 shares during the period. Sawtooth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 1st quarter valued at about $747,000. Toroso Investments LLC boosted its stake in Sempra by 42.4% during the 1st quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 5,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Sempra by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. 86.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Company Profile (Get Rating)

Sempra operates as an energy-services holding company in the United States and internationally. The company's San Diego Gas & Electric Company segment provides electric services; and supplies natural gas. It offers electric services to approximately 3.6 million population and natural gas services to approximately 3.3 million population that covers 4,100 square miles.

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