Morgan Stanley Lowers Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Price Target to $76.00

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $79.00 to $76.00 in a report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

SRE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered their target price on Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $82.10.

Sempra Price Performance

Sempra stock opened at $75.94 on Monday. Sempra has a 52 week low of $63.75 and a 52 week high of $78.83. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $74.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.99. The stock has a market cap of $47.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 8.95%. The business’s revenue was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 27th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.93%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $457,927.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,357.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Sempra news, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $422,597.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $457,927.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,357.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SRE. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 138.7% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 403,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,422,000 after buying an additional 234,219 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its position in Sempra by 141.3% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 69,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,741,000 after purchasing an additional 40,815 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Sempra by 26.1% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 769.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 100.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 3,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,504 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by 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.