Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Price Target Raised to $99.00 at Barclays

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its price target increased by Barclays from $89.00 to $99.00 in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America started coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.91.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $92.12 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a twelve month low of $66.40 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $86.75 and a 200-day moving average of $81.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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 firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Sempra’s payout ratio is 54.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,695,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $639,921,000 after purchasing an additional 129,891 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,846 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Blankinship & Foster LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,338,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $380,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $6,029,000. 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.