Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $80.54.

SRE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Argus cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th.

Sempra Price Performance

Sempra stock opened at $75.52 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. Sempra has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $70.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.88.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra news, Director James C. Yardley bought 5,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $69.74 per share, with a total value of $350,025.06. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $350,025.06. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $343,114.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,408,786.94. The trade was a 19.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth about $1,535,000,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Sempra by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,369,076,000 after buying an additional 4,082,261 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Sempra by 70.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,666,240 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $584,763,000 after acquiring an additional 2,758,037 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 71.3% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,651,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $408,069,000 after acquiring an additional 1,936,865 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,797,376,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511,313 shares in the last quarter. 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.