Brokerages Set Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Price Target at $91.60

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $91.20.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SRE. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $82.09 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $51.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $87.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.28. Sempra has a twelve month low of $66.40 and a twelve month high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Sempra during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its holdings in Sempra by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 225.6% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 180.4% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

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.