Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stock Price

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its price target upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $87.00 to $96.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

SRE has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

Sempra Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:SRE traded up $1.83 on Thursday, hitting $91.59. 1,964,326 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,887,472. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $66.40 and a fifty-two week high of $91.88. The stock has a market cap of $57.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.26 and a 200-day moving average of $79.00.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.17). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 1st quarter worth approximately $815,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Sempra during the first quarter worth $2,293,000. Forsta AP Fonden lifted its holdings in Sempra by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 117,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,418,000 after purchasing an additional 14,100 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 249.9% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 155,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,195,000 after purchasing an additional 111,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Sempra by 319.5% in the second quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 196,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,980,000 after purchasing an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Company Profile

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.